


Relearning

by CloudyLightning



Category: Final Fantasy Type-0, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5353538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudyLightning/pseuds/CloudyLightning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossover with Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0</p><p>For some mysterious reason, Class Zero manages to survive at a hefty price. With Ace in a completely different world with his memories erased and a deck of cards the only weapon he could use, he joins a group of the most unlikeliest of people to fight not only to save them from their fates, but also to find out who he once was. No matter how difficult the journey becomes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dream Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT (June 9, 2017) I rewrote the entire chapter (because it's shetty), so I have added a few details and made a majority of the beginning similar to that one paragraph I wrote in "Just For A Moment". Took me a long, long while, but I finally sat down to finish it in one go. Please reread this.

Ace was tired.

Though he was alive, it hurt to breathe.

It hurt to stay awake.

It hurt so much, he could barely tell what happened. He heard Cater call out to him, telling him to wake up. He blinked once, then twice, the light blinding him as he opened his eyes. He saw Cater standing beside him, exhausted just like him. Her voice was heard, but he could barely understand what she was saying. He turned a little in his chair, groaning under the pain. He heard the others talk, but he couldn't tell who said what.

Then he heard someone crying. Tears filled the corners of his eyes as he forced himself to get up. Each step was agony, cringing at every shot of pain that he felt, and his head was spinning with nausea and dizziness. He didn't know how, but he finally managed to fall to his knees near Cinque. He couldn't hold himself up, placing his hands on the ground to support himself. He heard his classmates follow, eventually making their way to the front of their destroyed classroom. Cinque's cries easily merged with the cries of his classmates.

They were all crying.

His chest burned and he felt too heavy to carry himself anymore. Even so, he took a breath and sang.

"Walk on wandering souls for your respite we pray..."

It hurt to sing. It burned his throat and his chest was so damn sore; it ached painfully. And yet, Ace focused on lessening the cries of his siblings. He paused, taking in another searing breath.

"Let out humble song clear your hearts of dismay," Ace gradually heard the cries die down, but Cinque was still sniffling.

"Rekindle the flame in your souls and set you free," his voice nearly cracked, but he kept it steady. It was hard to keep the pain out his tone. He honestly tried to stop his voice from shaking, only quivering at the held notes. He no longer heard anyone crying as he sang the last line he knew, "So walk on and become the light that guides the way."

There was a moment of silence, and Ace coughed just a little. He closed his eyes and sat on his heels, feeling the heavy weight of exhaustion.

"You... never sang past that, have you," he heard someone say. Ace couldn't tell if it was either Sice or Seven.

"That's the... only part that Ace knows," said another.

King. That had to be King. Ace huffed a little, knowing that it was true.

"Heheh, and we're not crying anymore..." If Ace were to guess, that would've been Eight.

"It's... finally over right?" Ace asked, his own voice barely over a whisper. He opened his eyes to see his siblings share a look amongst themselves. King answered him, "Yeah, it's over."

Eight looked up, "Well, then... Let's think about what comes next."

"What comes next?" Cinque asked, wiping her tears away, "we don't have a next."

Trey looked at her, "But we're free to think about it, Cinque."

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right," Cinque said. "Let's-ink of...un -re..."

Ace felt Deuce move a little closer and he leaned against her. She didn't seem to mind as the words of his siblings went through one ear and out the other. It was so hard to concentrate on their voices, so he settled to just listening to the sound of it.

"-Ace," The call of his name caused him to finally snap back into reality, the pain crashing into him yet again. He noticed how everyone was looking at him. Queen leaned a little closer repeating a question Ace never heard, "What do you think?"

"Huh?" Ace was confused. What were they talking about?

"Studying! You know like, things we've never learned about. What do you think?" Cater asked. Ace sat up a little straighter and smiled, hiding his pain away.

"I think... that would be a great idea," his voice was still quiet. "Maybe... Maybe I can learn how to raise.. a-a chocobo one day..."

"A chocobo?" Seven asked. Ace nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe even learn about how trees grow... When you think about it... we don't know anything other than war," he said, his voice gaining a bit of strength, "There's... there's so much...out... out there we...we don't even know."

"But does that even count as studying?" Sice asked. She sat back for a moment before looking at Ace, "Although, that does sound interesting."

"And then? What do we do way in the future - when we're done studying?" Cinque inquired.

"Way in the future? How long?" Nine asked, hardly believing that.

"Hmm... in ten years," Cinque said. Everyone took a moment to look at her in surprise.

"Hmph, I can hardly imagine that," King said, shaking his head.

"Well," came Deuce's voice, "I'm sure everything will be alright if we're all together."

"Yeah! It'll be fun! I just know it," Cater said, backing her up.

"I agree with that," Queen said, nodding along. Ace forced a smile. Would he even live long enough to have those ten years?

Even past this moment?

"Hmmm, well, it's the future, right?" Jack asked, crossing his arms, "I mean, we'll never know what will happen in the future. So, I think, we should stay in the moment. You know what I mean?"

"You mean, I'll never get to have a chocobo farm?" Ace muttered halfheartedly. There was an awkward silence as everyone looked at him. He blinked, "A-ah..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nine asked, placing his hands on his knees.

"Trey... did say we'-re free to thi-ink about the fut-ure."

Sice snorted first, then Trey spluttered, and soon everyone broke into laughter. Even Deuce held a hand over her mouth as she laughed.

Ace's own laughter was barely heard over the others, slowly dying out to an exhausted huff. It was getting harder to breathe, almost as if his lungs were running out of room. He felt something wet at the bottom of his throat, threatening to crawl into his mouth. It felt bad. It felt really bad.

He leaned against Deuce and tried to ease up, but it only grew worse.

The pain grew to the point where Ace wasn't sure if was painful anymore. In fact, it didn't really hurt anymore. It wouldn't surprise him if he grew numb to the pain. He was just so tired that he just wanted to sleep. His body slouched as he relaxed against his "sister".

"Ace?" came Deuce's voice, almost covered by the others' laughter, "You okay?"

For a moment there, Ace wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but he didn't. Instead, he clenched his fist, feeling the last bits of his pain fading to a dull thud.

Ace looked at Deuce and offered a soft, gentle smile, "I'll mana-ge."

His voice cracked.

The doors to their classroom suddenly slammed open, nearly stopping all of the laughter.

"Everyone!"

All of Class Zero looked to see Machina and Rem rushing toward them with relieved looks of joy on their faces.

"Remski!" Cinque called out, waving a hand at the pair. The others either smiled or laughed as Machina came stumbling to a stop next to Trey.

"You're all okay!" Rem breathed as she reached them.

"Ahaha, well, kind of," Cater said.

Sice huffed, "Barely living if you ask me."

"But alive! I thought - I thought - " Machina couldn't finish his sentence as he felt his eyes tear up. There was a soft, strangled laugh nearby and Machina looked. Ace was sitting up, a hand over his mouth as he clearly laughed at him.

"Si-nce when-did you become a cr-y baby?"

Rem was the first to laugh, "He's always been a crybaby! He's just never willing to admit it."

Once again, the mood had lifted. Rem began to check over all of them while Machina helped some of his classmates off the ground. They were lucky enough to find an old fashioned first aid kit behind the lecturer's desk, and Rem quickly got to work.

Everyone chattered on, aware of the underlying message to just keep _talking_. Ace tried his hardest to keep up with Deuce and the others, but he couldn't seem to breathe properly, or even hear their voices clearly. His eyes slowly dripped closed and his chest barely moved. It would be alright to just rest a little, right?

Deuce only noticed when Ace's body suddenly felt heavy against her body. She broke her attention away from her siblings and reached a shaking hand to Ace's face, "A-ace?"

He didn't answer and didn't twitch when she pinched his cheek to wake him up. Her heart nearly stopped at the touch of his slowly cooling skin and her own injuries were forgotten. "No - nono- Please - Ace!"

There was a sudden silence at the sound of her voice and Machina was immediately at her side - or rather, next to Ace's side.

"Ace! What's wrong?"

Machina gathered Ace in his arms, ignoring the steady drip of blood trailing from the corner of Ace's mouth. He was absolutely still; his head fell limply against Machina's arm, his sliced up hand slipped to the ground, and his chest didn't move.

"Ace...?"

Ace, their classmate, leader, comrade, their _brother_ , didn't answer. He laid in Machina's arms, like a broken doll. His uniform glistened as it soaked up his blood. An ashy color began to flood his already pale complexion and the bags under his eyes became more prominent.

And yet - a soft, gentle smile graced his slightly parted lips, forever frozen on his face. His expression was peaceful, the same one that he usually wore when he napped on a bench, or even in class at times.

"He... He's just sleeping, right?" came Jack's slightly quivering voice. His siblings all looked at each other, disbelief and denial clear in their eyes and faces. Even so, no one could bring themselves to say anything. Not even Trey.

Then Nine punched the ground, shattering the broken tiles under his strength. Then he roared. The denial in his cry was clear as day, even as reality began to set in. Cinque made a tiny noise before she wailed. Queen's composure broke, her own tears feel freely. Slowly, but surely, each one began to break. Cater shook her head, not bothering to hide her own pain. King lowered his head with his hands clenched and his shoulders shook. Sice gasped and looked at everything but Ace, blinked her eyes rapidly. Seven held her elbows as she gritted her teeth. Eight was silent, wiping at his eyes every few seconds. Jack didn't hold back, gripping his knees as water dropped on the back of his hands. Trey stared on, pressing his lips into a very thin line.

No one wanted to believe it. It just couldn't be! Ace was their anchor, and sometimes, their voice of reason. They would no longer see his confident smirk or comforting glances. They would never see him at the chocobo stables, petting and caring for the little newborns. Most of all, they would never hear him hum, or sing the only song he knew. He knew when to stand up for them, and trusted each of them whole heartedly, even when he claimed that they were annoying. The song that Mother taught him was his, and now it was gone. Everything that was Ace was just - gone.

Deuce sat close to Ace, running her hand through his soft locks. She cried openly, not bothering to wipe her tears away. Rem sat next to her, resting a hand on Deuce's shoulder as she grieved with her.

"I'm sorry," Machina whispered, holding Ace a little tighter, "I'm so sorry. I never had the chance to apologize to you - I'm sorry -"

Then it happened.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but the light from Ace's pouch began to glow and sounds of glass breaking could be heard. Shards of clear-glass like crystals sparkled and emerged from his pouch, fading away as it traveled further upwards. Queen noticed and gasped, catching the attention of her siblings. They looked and watched in slight awe as it glistened in the sunlight.

"Ace...?" Deuce's voice shook as Ace's body began to glow. The familiar light of his magic appeared around him, gently caressing him like a child. Machina's mouth dropped when Ace was suddenly weightless. Just as suddenly as it happened, the tips of Ace's hands turned into glass, then shattered away. The magic trailed up his arms and legs, repeating the same process as the remains were gathered by wisps of his magic.

"No! Ace!"

"Wait, don't take him away from us!"

"Ace!"

It only took a matter of seconds as Ace's body had completely broken down into a mass of lights and crystals. The shards glistened in the rising sunlight, as if it was slowly saying good bye to them all. Machina got up on his feet and chased after it, reaching his hand in vain attempt to stop it. The rest of the class followed after him, ignoring their own injuries and pains.

No one would accept it. It just couldn't end there!

"No!"

For a moment, a small portion broke apart and flowed by the entire class, fazing through each one with the gentle warmth that Ace had always carried with him. Eight gasped when he suddenly felt - healed? He stopped and blinked at his clean hands and good as new sleeves. He felt no pain, and no cringing ache that dominated his body since their last battle. He was healed. Eight caught Cater's wide eyes as she too realized what happened.

"We're..."

"Healed!" Queen exclaimed, looking over herself before hurriedly turning her head toward what they knew was Ace. The entire class was healed - there was no doubt about it - It had to be Ace.

Machina followed it until he reached the end of the classroom, over the broken down debris to the edge of the foundation. Deuce and Rem appeared beside him, watching in awe as it slowly disappeared.

Ace had disappeared into the morning horizon, far out of their reach.

._._._._._.

The air was warm on Ace's skin as he walked on the edge of the beach. He felt like he had never gone to the beach before, so he took the opportunity to enjoy it. The sounds of the waves made him relax for a moment, relishing the peace of the sun set before him. From a distance he could see a house not too far from the shore. At times, he wondered who lived there, but he didn't want to seem annoying, so he kept quiet.

He didn't know much, but he knew he was lucky. A young woman called Lebreau found him here washed up on the beach a few days ago, nearly giving her a heart attack. When she found out that he couldn't remember much, she practically dragged him around Bohdum and bought him new clothes, gave him a place to live, and treated him like a little brother. In a way, she practically adopted him.

Ace walked on the dock and sat at the ledge. He enjoyed the sounds of the water swishing against the wooden pegs and looked at his reflection. He no longer wore the black uniform he was found in, having to fold them up in his drawer since it was a bit...out of place. Instead, he wore a white shirt underneath a black opened, long sleeved, button down folded up to his elbows, and a pair of slightly loose fitting bluish-grey jeans tucked in with boots that reached halfway up his leg. His hands were covered with comfortable leather gloves.

Strapped around his waist was a pouch containing a little notebook, a mini box he didn't open, and a deck of cards. Tied neatly around his neck like a scarf, was a red cape. He didn't know why, but for some odd reason, he couldn't part with any of these items; no matter how much Gadot told him that it wasn't really worth it...

Sighing, Ace got up when he realized how much time had passed. If he didn't head back soon, Yuj or Maqui would end up dragging him home. Although, he was sixteen, a bit small for his age, and amnesiac, he knew for a fact that could handle himself better than Maqui... or at least he hoped so. With one last look at the blue horizon, Ace made his way back to his "home".

"Hey, Ace!" called a voice. Ace turned around at the mention of his name and spotted Maqui running across the sand with Yuj jogging behind him. He waited for Maqui to catch up to him with a quiet smile.

"Let's go see the fireworks tonight!" Maqui said as he stopped right in front of Ace. Yuj caught up and offered an easy-going smile.

"You wanna come?" he asked. Ace pressed his lips together for a moment to think about it.

"Come on, Ace, you don't have to think about it!" Maqui said as he saw the expression. Ace shrugged his shoulders a bit.

"I promised Lebreau that I'll help her at the bar," he stated. Maqui looked crestfallen while Yuj placed a hand on his hip.

"If we tell her that you're with us, I'm sure she'll let you off tonight," Yuj said. Ace gave him a worried look.

"Are you sure? I mean, I still have to repay her for letting me stay with her," he said as he looked over to the bar not too far away. He could see Lebreau waving at them. Yuj and Maqui waved back while Ace looked on.

"Eh, I'm sure she'll be fine with it, Ace!" Maqui said as he swung an arm around Ace's shoulders. The taller teen stumbled a bit but kept his balance. He slipped out of Maqui's loose hold and laughed a little.

"Okay, okay, I'll go," Ace said as he began to make his way to the bar. Maqui cheered behind him and high-fived Yuj. Ace huffed a soft laugh and shook his head at his friends' actions. As he walked, Ace couldn't help but feel a little glad that he had people like Yuj and Maqui. Even though he was a stranger and new to practically... everything - these two treated him as if they were friends for ever. In all honesty, it felt just a bit odd. Maybe he wasn't used to interacting with people before.

It felt even stranger to be relaxed, too. He found himself quite tense when he was surrounded by others, but Gadot and Snow swore to help him get over it. How, he didn't have the slightest idea. Ace pulled himself out of his thoughts and tossed a smile over to Lebreau, jogging the rest of the way.

Maybe he could get used to the peace that he found.

...Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else think that a few of them died from internal bleeding? Because that's how I think Ace died. 
> 
> Ah. Sorry, Ace.


	2. A Purge

Chapter 2: A Purge

"You can go." Lebreau said as she wiped the counter. Ace looked up from his plate of freshly made salad. He didn't really like salad in general, but he ate it because he didn't want to bother anyone.

"Wait, are you sure?" he asked, placing his fork down. Lebreau stopped for a moment and looked at him.

"I'm serious. Besides I've been running this place long before you came here. You on the other hand, need to see the sights around here." She said.

"But I--" Ace began, but she cut him off.

"Up-pap-pap! I don't want to hear it. Just hang out with Maqui and Yuj tonight. You'll never know. You might end up remembering something if you see the fireworks." Lebreau asked.

Ace shrugged as he looked to the side. "I....I suppose."

"See? Now stop being stubborn about helping and have fun tonight, alright?" she said, resuming her task of wiping the counter.

"Alright...I was just making sure." Ace said as he went back to his salad. Even though he gave up, he felt that he should've tried a little harder to convince her, but he did make a promise to Maqui and Yuj that he would join them. Sighing, he finished up his salad and washed the dishes. For the rest of the day, he decided to help Lebreau as much as he could.

When it was nearly time for the fireworks, Ace just finished sweeping the front. He took a look at the nearly dark skies and stared. He couldn't help but think about what was he doing here. He couldn't remember anything other than the basics. His name and his age was as clear as day, but everything else was just...

"Ace!"

Snapping out of his trance, Ace blinked and nearly jumped in surprise. Maqui was waving a hand in front of his face.

"Heeey! You okay there, Ace?" Maqui asked. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes."

"I'm fine." Ace answered quickly, shaking his head. "Is it almost time?"

"Yeah, I came to drag you away just incase you get second thoughts." Maqui said honestly. Ace couldn't help but give him a look.

"I won't, geez, Maqui." he said. "I'll be right back in a few."

Ace turned on his heel and hurried back inside. The bar was somewhat busy, but he could tell that Lebreau was handling herself well. He put away the broom and disappeared into the back. He slipped into the room that Lebreau gave him. It used to be a storage for all of their weapons and such, so he was a little wary of slipping on a random bullet on the ground. Luckily, it only happened to Gadot and not him.

His room only held the normal, simple furniture any bedroom would have: a bed, a nightstand with a lamp on top, and a dresser with a mirror. Ace didn't really mind the dark as he grabbed his jacket sitting on his bed and slipped it on. Although, just as he left he room, he heard something hit the floor. Pausing, he looked down and spotted one of his cards.

"How did that fall out of my pouch...?" he muttered to himself as he picked it up. He only took a glance at the card face before heading back out. Once he got to the bar, he didn't have to go to Lebreau to tell her he was heading out. She was giving him the look that told him to just go.

"Okay, I'm back!" Ace said as he met up with Yuj and Maqui right outside the bar.

"About time! The fireworks are about to start." Yuj said as he placed a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, come on, Ace! You're gonna love it." Maqui said as he took off. Ace barely had the chance to say anything as Yuj followed after Maqui into the crowd. He nearly lost sight of them as he trailed behind them. The crowd was big, unlike any he'd really seen before, and they were all there to watch the fireworks. He spotted a few soldiers standing by, but they seemed to be waiting for the fire works too.

Ace came to a sudden stop as he noticed that he already lost the two. Yuj's familiar hair color was nowhere to be seen, and he was sure he wouldn't spot Maqui unless there was someone shorter than him. He sighed, feeling a little down.

"Great. I-"

A loud bang! interrupted Ace, making his eyes snap up in surprise. There, in the large, clear container of sorts, were thousands of lights blossoming in the sky. Immediately, it took his breath away. He had never seen anything like it! All those colors and the loud bangs amazed him. Bang after bang, he could see those colors burst in a magnificent display, almost as if there were flowers blooming in the night sky.

"So that's fireworks...." Ace breathed. The fireworks were so beautiful, he almost felt like he to tell someone all about it! He had to tell-

Ace blinked. Tell who? Who was he so excited to tell?

He had the sudden urge to reach for his deck. If there was a bigger mystery than his own memories, then it would be his deck of cards. All of them were light and thin, but it didn't bend or break. The designs on the back of the cards were so detailed that Ace just knew that those cards were not just for idle play. He took his cards out of his pouch and took the top card. In his hand was the Two of Diamonds; the same card that fell to the floor earlier. He smiled a little and held up the card to the fireworks.

He didn't even get the chance to think any further as someone bumped into him. He gasped in surprise as all of the cards slipped out of his hand, except the Two of Diamonds.

"Oh my! I'm sorry!" came a girl's apologetic voice. He looked down and spotted a red-haired girl picking up his fallen cards. Blinking for a moment, Ace bent down and helped her.

"It's fine." he muttered as he gathered the cards.

"I really didn't mean to. I was just looking for someone and I wasn't looking where I was going." she explained as she handed him the rest of the cards. Ace took them and actually looked at the girl with a heavy accent of...something. Her hair was tied in curled pigtails on both sides of her head. She wore clothes that were even stranger than his uniform with her fur pelt and beaded necklaces. But, what truly caught his attention was her green eyes. For some odd reason, he couldn't help but feel a bit of nostalgia.

"I-it's fine. Really." Ace assured as he smiled politely. "Thank you for helping me pick up my cards."

"Oh, you're welcome." she said. She gestured to herself. "I'm Vanille. Pleasure to meet you."

It took a moment for Ace to understand what she was doing before following suit. "I'm Ace. It's nice to meet you, too, Vanille."

Vanille looked up at the fireworks and smiled a little. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Ace followed her gaze. "...Yeah, they are."

At the corner of his eye, he saw Vanille bring her hands to her chest and make a sign as she bowed her head.

"What are you doing?" Ace asked. For a moment, she didn't answer before lifting her head again to watch the fireworks.

"I was making a wish." Vanille said simply.

"On the fireworks?" Ace asked, looking genuinely confused. "Why?"

"I've heard that if you wish on the fireworks, then your wish will come true." she said with an odd note of sadness. Ace kept his gaze on her for a moment longer before looking up at the fireworks once more.

"Really?"

"It's worth a shot."

Ace frowned. "...But, I don't have anything to wish for..."

Vanille placed a hand on her hip and gave him a smile. "Hey! There's always something to wish for, Ace."

"Hmm..." He paused to think about her words and looked down at his deck of cards. Without much of a thought, he picked the top card once more and lifted it to the fire works. Ace's eyes widened in slight surprise at the sheer timing of the firework exploding behind the Ace of Spades, as most as if it was lit but the colorful lights.

For a moment, he began to wonder if he should wish to remember everything, but strangely, at the back of his head, something was telling him no. That those memories would never come back to him. So, instead, he made a different wish.

"I wish...this peace that I found will stay this way."

As soon as he made that wish, he missed the look of reluctance that crossed Vanille's face. Vanille pressed her lips together before nodding with him.

"Yes...I wish the same, too."

Silently, she prayed that Ace's wish would come true. Yet, at the same time, she knew.

She knew it was futile.

._._._._._.

The next day, Ace was just sitting at the counter of the bar doing a few tricks with his cards while Lebreau was going through a list of something. He didn't know why, but his hands began to automatically move. The cards practically floated around his hands as he flipped and spun them. In fact, he felt like he had been doing those tricks for years that he was just doing them out of muscle memory. What was even weirder was the moments when his hands suddenly slowed, letting the card smack his fingers recklessly. He couldn't figure out why as it happened here and there.

Last night, he parted ways with Vanille when he spotted Yuj's blue hair in the crowd. He worried his friends since he "disappeared". He did tell Maqui that he left him behind with a rather blunt face.

Sighing, Ace flicked a card in the air and-

"Lebreau! It's bad! It's really bad!"

His right hand missed the card and it cut his palm harshly, right across. He bit his curse back as Lebreau looked up from her list.

"Maqui?" she called as she left the counter. Ace was quick to hide his hand under the counter, gathering his cards with his other hand. The two barely had the chance to react as Maqui suddenly burst into the bar with panic clear on his face.

"Ace, Lebreau! They-they're Purging everyone! And Serah's gone, too!"

Ace blinked at the mention of the girl's name. Hd could've sworn he met someone by that name...He didn't give himself much time to think about it as Lebreau's face when white in disbelief.

"Purged...? What...what does that mean?" Ace asked as he subconsciously clutched the end of his scarf with his uninjured hand. He felt a looming sense of dread in his stomach as he looked as his friend. Lebreau gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists.

"It means that they're going to kill us all."

._._._._._.

It was only a matter of time. The very next day, it happened. Ace barely understood what was happening. Once a PSICOM entered their bar, he paled. They pointed their guns at him with everyone in NORA gathered, ordering them to head to the station. It wasn't far, but along the way, he was separated from them all. Ace, for some odd reason felt a bit calm, or maybe too calm for his own liking.

The moment he got to the station, he was forced into lines. He looked around, hoping to catch a familiar sight, but he was out of luck. He was clearly on his own.

"Join the end of the line." came the orders. With a soft sigh, Ace gave up finding his friends and followed the crowd, slowly falling into the crooked line. Just by looking at the expressions on the peoples' faces told him that they were confused and scared. Why were they scared?

"Attention Purge Deportees: Follow instructions and stay in your lines." said an armed soldier at the front. "Personal belongings will be returned upon arrival."

Ace couldn't help but blink at the words. Wait...they were being transported? But, Lebreau told him that they were going to kill them...Who was right?

His train of thought was broken as someone yelled out.

"Move out of the way!"

A couple leapt out of the line and ran across the platform toward the exit. Ace unintentionally caught the eye of the woman as she passed him, scrambling after her friend. Without realizing it, his mind had already captured the expression on her face. It was filled with hope and fear. He watched in horror as the other soldiers hurried after the couple with their guns raised. Just as the escapees turned a corner, the soldier stopped and aimed their guns. Ace gasped sharply as he caught the sight of blood spraying the air as the gunshots fired.

People screamed in fright and horror, some were questioning if it was really happening. Just then, Lebreau's words echoed in his head.

"It means they're going to kill us all."

Ace blinked as he forced the image away, shaking his head. It was true. They were going to kill them. They were going to kill him. But what could he do? He couldn't run after the sight he just witnessed.

"Do not leave your lines! It's for your own safety!" the soldier at the front warned. Ace grimaced at the tone, but did what he was told, standing at the very end of the line. He held his elbows as he observed everything around himself. There just has to be some way he could escape!

His gaze landed on a tall, pink haired woman strolling to the front of the line. She didn't seem like much, but he could tell she had a role of some sort. He was about to dismiss it as he noticed the soldier she spoke to glanced around cautiously. The soldier leaned in and said something to her. Suddenly, the weapon behind her activated as she reached for it. Ace thought she was going to attack him, but instead, she gave her weapon to him, completely surrendering it. The soldier took the weapon and suddenly raised his voice.

"Line up!"

Ace blinked. Did that woman just do something? What did she do? He fixed his gaze somewhere else as she turned around and headed toward the back. He did notice someone else step out of line, but it was done with caution. The man was in his forties for sure, with a thick afro. He wore a green coat and boots that fitted an engineer. The man followed the woman to the back of the line.

Ace decided to keep quite as the woman stepped in place behind him, messing with the sloppy bandage on his hand (of course, he did it himself but he couldn't seem to properly do it right. Nor did he want Lebreau or anyone else to look at it). He heard the man stop behind her.

"Hey, Lady. What gives?" the man whispered to her. Ace resisted the urge to turn around as she replied.

"I volunteered."

"Really? You don't look like you're going in quietly."

"If you want quiet, then I suggest you take the next train."

Ace blinked at her response as he moved forward to close the gap. Faintly, he heard the man huff.

"Oh, now I really want to see what you're up too."

With his curiosity getting the better of him, Ace looked over his shoulder at the woman. She was a few inches taller, maybe three if he wanted to be exact. Her aqua blue eyes meet with Ace's light blue ones.

"What?" she asked. Ace stared at her for a moment longer before tearing his gaze away with a shake of his head.

"It is nothing. I'm sorry." He apologized as he turned away. He only heard her humph.

._._._._._.


	3. Hanging Edge

Chapter 3: Hanging Edge

The train rattled as it sped to their destination. Ace felt the urge to tug at his strange restraints and settled with messing with his bandage for the fifth time since he boarded the train. It was loosened to the point where he was sure that it was going to fall off his hand at any given moment. His pouch with cards was taken away and it was making him highly uncomfortable, almost unbearable. The coat he was forced to wear felt a bit heavy with the weird design. He took a deep calming breath to ease the anxiousness he felt. It helped...a little bit.

"Stop messing with it." came the pink-haired woman's voice. Ace turned his head slightly to look at her at the corner of his eye. He caught her slight glare, making him shift and clear his throat slightly. He couldn't help but follow her order, curling his hands into light fists. His right hand shook as stinging pain pricked at him. He was pretty sure the woman heard his sharp gasp of pain.

Ace heard the door open and a guard enter in. He kept his head down as the guard began to randomly point his gun at people, trying to scared them a little.

"You serious?" asked the man next to her in a low voice.

"Shut up." came the woman's softer voice. Ace couldn't help but notice that her voice was a bit soft, and maybe gentle if she tried.

"I wish you the best of luck," the man said. Ace didn't know what she was waiting for but—

The train suddenly jolted from something, making the guard loss his balance. Not even a second later, the woman got up and rushed over to the man. Ace watched in amazement as she flipped into the air and knocked the guard to the floor. Suddenly, the restraints disappeared and he was free to move around again.

"She did it!" the man said as he looked as his free hands. Ace immediately stood up as he felt more on the way.

The doors slid open and two more soldiers came out, firing their guns. The woman tore off her coat and used it as a decoy. Ace's jaw dropped in amazement as she took them out with surprising ease.

"Whoa..." he breathed. She easily took out the soldiers and headed out of the car. Ace saw the man shrug off his coat and throw it to the ground. He approached a small boy with short white hair hugging his knees in fright and knelt down.

"Hey, are you alright?" the man asked as he placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy looked up in confusion at the man's kind, yet urgent voice. "I'm not a l'Cie."

Ace blinked in surprise as something yellow popped out of the man's hair and warked. For some strange reason, he felt a surge of happiness as he immediately identified the creature. "A chocobo!"

The man glanced at Ace with a slightly raised eyebrow while the child smiled. Ace gave a nervous laugh and took a step back. The man ruffled the boy's hair. "You'll be alright."

Ace couldn't help but marvel at the man. He was able to ease a child with just a few simple words and actions. It made him wonder, could he do the same thing?

"Hey, kid, what's your name?" the man asked as he looked up at him. Ace blinked for a moment, not fully realizing that he was asking for his name.

"Ace." he answered with a small nod.

"Alright, Ace. I'm going after that lady and take those who want to fight. Can you take any of the children and find a safe place to hide?" he asked him.

"W-what?" Ace asked. How could he do that? He barely even knew the place! "But I—I don't even know what's going on!"

"It's better you don't, Ace. Now, get out of here with the children!"

The man barely gave him a chance to answer back as he got up and headed out the car, not before giving Ace a "good luck" pat on the shoulder. Ace was left standing there for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief as people hurried after the man. He shed his coat and reached for the child in front of him.

"Come on, we have to leave." he told the boy gently. The boy nodded and grabbed Ace's hand tightly. The teen looked around and took note that there was one other child crying for her mother. Obviously, there was no one comforting her as they ran out of the car, too. Clicking his tongue in disappointment, he came to the little girl and took her hand. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

The little girl didn't have a moment to respond as Ace was already pulling her out of the car with the little boy in tow. The adults had gone to fight against whatever it was, leaving just Ace and the two children. He gritted his teeth as he held the children's hands a little tighter. The girl wouldn't stop crying when she spotted the dead bodies and the boy was clinging to him like a lifeline. How exactly was he going to bring these children to safety if there was a rebellion of some sort?!

He didn't have time to think as the train suddenly shook violently. The little girl screamed in surprise as the boy fell to his knees, pressing his hands against his ears. Ace dropped to his knees and covered the children as much as he could. For several minutes, the train rocked before it suddenly came to a standstill. He didn't dare to move until all movement stopped for five seconds.

"Are you alright?" Ace asked as he slowly got up and dusted off any dust that fell on them. The children nodded, sticking close to him. Ace frowned as he looked around. Just how in the world was he going to get them out?

He looked over to the next car over and noticed how the top was ripped open. He spotted the pink-haired woman climb out with the man hurrying after her. Not really thinking, he took the children's hand in each in his own.

"Come, we're getting out of here!" he said. The children followed him without question. Once they got to the next car he called up to the man.

"Hey, wait!"

"Huh? Ace!" the man said as he looked down. Ace swept the little girl in his grip and lifted her toward the older man.

"Here, help me!" he asked the man. The man didn't hesitate as he grabbed the girl from his arms. In a minute, the two were able to get the children up there. Just as Ace was about to climb up, something caught his eye.

"Ace, hurry up here!" the man called to him. The teen held up a hand.

"Wait, hold on!" He turned away when the man started to tell him to hurry up. Ace ducked down and grabbed a familiar leather strap. With a bit of trouble, he pulled out his pouch. He couldn't stop the grin when he felt the cards inside as he quickly strapped it around his waist. The familiar weight on his waist made him feel a little more safer as he climbed out of the train car. The two children were keeping their distance from the woman, who was eyeing the immediate area. Ace barely had the moment to take a break as the woman yelled out.

"Hey! Get those kids and run! Get out of here, now!" she snapped. Ace didn't even look at her as he did what he was told. He grabbed the little girl in his arms and snatched the boy's hand and took off toward the head of the train. He took note that the only way to get out of here was to follow that track further into the area. Of course, with two little kids, he didn't want to do that, but what choice did he have?! He released the boy's hand and jumped down to the rails.

"Don't leave me!" the boy cried. Ace placed the girl down and held his arms open to the boy.

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving you!" Ace cried over the roaring sounds of machinery and gunfire. "Jump, and I'll catch you!"

The boy shook his head and backed away. "I can't!"

"You have to trust me!"

"I can't!"

Before Ace could convince the boy, a large living ship of some sort flew over their heads and landed behind the boy. The boy screamed in surprise and jumped off the from without any other warning. True to his word, Ace caught him with surprising ease. He quickly placed the boy down and grabbed the children's hands once again.

"Come on!" he urged them. They raced across the tracks as fast as their small legs could cary them. Ace felt them turn around for a moment, only to stumble a little with Ace pulling them back up with urgency. A large explosion was heard behind them, but they didn't stop, the children turning their fear into strength to run.

He didn't know how long they ran, but Ace was forced to stop when the children needed the break. He didn't even realize until the fifth break that he was slightly winded. He knew that an average person should be worn out, even with daily exercise and a balanced diet.

The little girl suddenly stumbled on a beam of metal lying on the damaged rail. Ace cursed as he felt her grip his injured hand a little too hard.

"My knee!" the girl cried as she started to cry. Ace gritted his teeth as he looked at the harsh gash scrape on her knee. The boy immediately dropped to his knees and started to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay, it's just a scrape." the boy said as he had a hand hover over it.

"But it hurts!" she wailed. Ace cringed at her tone and quickly surveyed the area. They had managed to reach the a road of some sort. Debris was covering the railing, telling Ace that they couldn't go any further. He looked around and felt his jaw drop when he recognized a familiar group of people.

"Yuj...?" he breathed in surprise. He immediately jumped up and waved his hands high above his head.

"Yuj! Maqui!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Lebreau! Gadot! Snow!"

He was in luck. The group heard his calls as they looked over to see him. Lebreau was the first to leap over a chunk of metal and rush over to him with Maqui right behind her.

"Ace! You're alright!" she said as she came into range. Ace could see that they were armed with guns. Were they rebelling? The boy looked up at Ace with slightly frightened eyes and the teen was quick to ease his worries.

"It's alright, they're my friends." he told him. He bent down to pick up the sniffling girl and urged the boy to follow him to meet the two halfway.

"Ace! I thought we lost you forever!" Maqui said as he stopped in front of him.

"I'm not going to die that easily, Maqui." Ace said calmly. Lebreau was giving him a quick look over with her eyes.

"Are you okay? Not hurt?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Ace assured.

"Who are the kids?" Lebreau asked as she bent down to pat the boy's head. The boy almost shied away, but Ace gave him a reassuring nod as he spoke, "Someone asked me to get them to safety, so I had to bring them with me."

Instead of just letting Lebreau pat his head, he tugged at the edge of her shirt.

"I want to go home." he told her. Ace could tell that she didn't know how to really respond to that as she moved her gun away from the boy.

"Come on, we'll take you to the other refugees we found." Maqui said as he began to lead the way back. Ace followed close by with the girl clinging to his shirt tightly. Although, he wanted to ask what was going on, he decided to keep quiet, not wanting to burden anyone. He was quickly greeted with a heavy pat on the shoulder from Gadot the moment he was reunited with NORA. Yuj was remarking how he was sure that Ace was alright, while their leader, Snow, ruffled his hair.

"Great to see you in one piece, buddy!" Snow said once Ace set the girl down among the refugees.

"Sophia...?" came a voice in the crowd. The teen looked up to see a woman with the same hair color as the little girl.

"Mommy!" the girl, Sophia cried as she scrambled to her mother. Ace breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, he managed to take the little girl back to her mother safely...with the exception of a scrapped knee.

"Is everyone alright?" Snow asked as he looked over the crowd of people. Several people had already removed their coats, but only a few were still wearing it. Maqui stumbled as he tried to make his way over with the guns he collected along their way here. Snow clicked his tongue as he scolded him a bit.

"Hey, be careful with those." he said as Maqui laughed nervously. Ace stood a little to the side, unsure of what to do. "Don't worry, no one's going to Pulse anytime soon. We'll clear you a path out of here, so be ready to—"

He couldn't finish his sentence when someone spoke up.

"Wait! Let us fight, too!" said a man as he stood up.

"Yeah, don't expect us to just sit back and watch!" said another.

"Uh..." Snow was at a loss of words as he shared a look with Gadot, who nodded. "Well, could help."

"Yeah." Gadot supplied.

"Please, let us help." the first man said. Snow was about to answer when a visible explosion happened in the distance. Sighing, Snow turned back to the crowd and finally gave his answer.

"Alright, volunteers front and center!"

Not even a second later, people began to come up and pick up a gun. Ace watched as the guns on the ground quickly disappeared. Although, what really caught his attention was the white haired woman that stood up. She picked up a gun and when up to Snow.

The leader turned around and blinked. "Are you sure?"

The woman nodded and brought the gun up with determination clear on her face. "Yeah. Moms are tough."

Snow gave her one nod and looked over to Gadot.

"This is the last one boss." Gadot said as he handed the last gun to his leader.

"Alright, who wants to take the last one?" Snow asked as he waved the handle to the crowd. He stopped at a small figure who quickly shook his head and scooted away. Ace pressed his lips together as stepped toward Snow. He barely opened his mouth before he was cut off.

"Come on, there's one more." Snow said quickly.

"Snow—"

"I'll take it!"

Ace turned to see a girl still wearing the coat. He caught a glimpse of the girl's face and recognized her immediately. "Vanille?"

Snow was taken aback for a moment before handing here the gun. Ace couldn't help but feel a little irritated. He just knew Snow did it on purpose. Obviously, his new leader didn't want him to take part in it.

"Keep 'em safe alright?" Snow told her. Vanille made the gesture to shoot him as she raised it the proper way.

"Bang!" she said lightly. Ace shook his head as Snow pretended to be shot. Snow was joking now, but would he really be alright? Doubt started to creep at Ace as he addressed everyone else.

"Alright, lay low and you'll be fine. We'll clear the area." Snow said. "We'll all make it home!"

._._._._._.

If there was one thing Ace wondered about, then it would be why he got into this mess...and maybe even how. At the current moment, he didn't know what he was really doing, only followed the instructions he was given and acted upon them. Many people managed to bypass them as they all headed to the same place. For some strange reason, Vanille decided to stay near him while a small teen just stuck with her like glue.

Ace didn't question it, knowing that a kid as young as him wouldn't normally experience. He followed Vanille's lead and made sure the youngest stuck with him as he crossed the bridge to a seemingly safe place.

"Are you sure this is the way?" Vanille called to him. Ace shrugged when she looked over her shoulder.

"I don't know...but Lebreau said to cross this bridge." he answered. The teen beside him was just managing to keep up the pace spoke up.

"Do you think they'll be able to make it there, too?" he asked.

"I hope s—!" Before Ace could finish his answer, a loud explosion caught their attention. They skidded to a stop. Vanille gasped in surprise as the newly destroyed bridge came falling down not too far away. Ace cringed at the sounds of people screaming and metal bending.

It wasn't long until the other side of the bridge bent, not able to bear the weight and the damage.

"No! Mom!" the boy cried. Ace blinked in confusion as he narrowed his eyes to see two people dangling off the end of the broken bridge. He immediately recognized both of them.

"S-Snow!" he breathed. Without even thinking, he reached into his pouch and drew four cards with easy grace. He moved his arm to throw them across the far space, but stopped. Something was wrong. Everything felt right, but there was something missing. Something excruciatingly important.

The teen suddenly screamed, snapping Ace out of his trance and alerting all of his senses. At the last second, he saw the teen's mother in mid-fall. Guilt immediately crashed into him at the teen's anguished cry. He barely had the time to say anything (not that there was something to say) before another explosion erupted behind them.

Ace cursed and shoved his cards back in his pocket.

"Let's go!" Vanille said, pulling at the shocked teen. He didn't budge as he stayed rooted in place. Ace was about to grab the teen's arm, but stopped when Vanille slapped in the face. The teen blinked out of his shock and stumbled a little at the force of the blow. "We have to go!"

There was a small moment of hesitation before the teen nodded, finally getting a grip on himself. "R-right!"

Ace didn't even wait for Vanille to grab the teen's hand and dragged him forward. "Come on."

He passed Vanille, but not without grabbing her hand too. As they ran from the scene, Ace couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Would he really make it out of here alive?

._._._._._.

"This is...really getting out of hand." Ace said as the teen next to him finally removed his coat.

The teen had short, sliver hair and light blue-green eyes to match. He wore a short-sleeved orange and yellow jacket with a detailed, green scarf wrapped around his neck and a black shirt underneath. His hands were covered with a pair of black gloves with a white palms. A yellow wristband was on his left wrist. He also wore green cargo pants with a storage pouch hanging from his belt and green boots.

Ace blinked. The teen's height was much shorter than he thought. Maybe a bout four inches...?

"Uhm...is there something wrong?" the teen asked.

"Ah, no. Just...never mind..." Ace said, shaking his head. The teen barely had anything to say as Vanille suddenly shoved a gun into his hands. The sliver-haired teen gave her a look of confusion as she smiled.

"I know it's hard right now but you have to face it later." Vanille said as she hugged him. After a moment, she stepped away and gave Ace look. "I'm sure you can handle him, right?"

"Eh?" Ace didn't understand her as she waved.

"See ya!" Vanille took off, not pausing to look back.

"Wait!" the teen called after her, dropping the gun and hurrying after her.

"Hey—!" Ace didn't finish as he groaned in slight annoyance and grabbed the gun off the ground. He flinched as his right hand burned painfully. He took note that his crappy excuse for a bandage had fallen off somewhere, but he could worry about that later. If those two were going to run off without a weapon then might as well cover for them...right?

He watched the forms of the two slowly grew further away. Holding the gun a little tighter, he ran after them. "Don't leave me behind!"

._._._._._.


	4. To The Pulse Vestige

Chapter 4: To the Pulse Vestige

*Bang, bang!*

"Gaah!"

The silver-haired teen flinched at the dying soldier's scream. Obviously, he wasn't used to all of this fighting. If anything, Ace was sure the silver-haired teen would hide for safety. Luckily, Ace didn't give him the moment to hide as he quickly eliminated the threats.

"Over there!" Vanille warned as Ace pulled a lever back and aimed once again. His eyes quickly caught the new enemy and he didn't even pause as he pulled the trigger. It hit its mark, efficiently killing the soldier. His accuracy was so precise that it nearly scared him. But then, why should he care? As long as he could get out of here with Vanille and the silver-haired teen, he would be fine.

For a moment, he thought he was done until he heard another rush of footsteps.

"Over there!"

Without even thinking, his body moved and aimed. He pulled the trigger once more, only to hear an empty click. Ace felt his eyes widened and cursed underneath his breath.

"Hide!" Vanille jumped into action as she grabbed the silver-haired teen and hid behind a chunk of debris. Ace leapt out out of range just as the newly arrived group started firing at them. He hissed as dropped the gun at his feet, trying to endure the throbbing pain his hand. Just why did he have to cut his dominate hand in the first place anyway?

He gritted his teeth and searched for another weapon. To his surprise, he couldn't even find another gun near him. Ace forced himself to stay put and wait until the gun shots slowed. Without thinking, he drew a card and held it up, aiming for one of their guns.

For a split moment, he was wondering what the heck he was doing. Throwing a card? How would that help?!

A slight bit of frustration flared in him, causing him to narrow his eyes and grip the card a little tighter. Now was not the time to be thinking about this!

Shoving all doubts out of his head, he gritted his teeth and leapt out of his cover. To his amazement, several bullets just passed him, only a millimeter away from grazing his clothes. Ace did the next thing he felt what was right, he threw his card before he reached the other side. Vanille only held the white haired teen closer as Ace appeared at her side.

A cry of pain pierce the air as Ace caught sight of his card cut the back of a soldier's hand and create a gash in their armored shoulder. Ace took the distraction as an opportunity, jumping over his cover and kicking the closest soldier. The gun flew out of his hands and Ace grabbed it in midair with a flip of his body. Time seemed to slow as he took aim. Bullets shot past him and they had all missed him. How? He didn't know. He just narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

Five shots was all it took. Ace landed gracefully on his feet as the mortally wounded soldiers fell to the ground. Well, at least he hoped they were unconscious. He dropped the gun and picked up his card, turning it over. Faint lines of blue were fading and the Three of Spades stood out to him. Never once did it actually occur to him that he was able to take on so many enemies on his own. Nor did he feel a bit of regret of hurting others. In fact, he only felt relief that the worst seemed to be over at the moment.

"I-is it over…?" the silver-haired teen asked peeking out of the cover. Ace took a glance at him and nodded, looking down at the bloodied card in his hand. He felt a strange sense of faint satisfaction, but it wasn't very much. In fact, he felt off. This wasn't his style of fighting. Pulling that trigger just felt...wrong. He felt that it was someone else's job. But then again...he had no choice but to actually use a gun for lack of a better weapon.

Ace kept the card out of sight as he rubbed it clean against his pants and discreetly slipping it back into his pouch. "For now."

"What...who are you?" the white haired teen asked, coming out of his hiding place. Vanille had the same question from the look on her face as she looked at Ace.

"Well...I don't know." Ace answered honestly. The white haired teen gave him a look of confusion.

"You don't know? You have to have a name, right?" he asked. Ace nodded.

"Yeah. I'm Ace. You are?" he asked, looking right at the white haired teen.

"Hope." the white haired teen said. Ace looked confused.

"Hope?"

"Yeah, my name is Hope." Hope said, rubbing his arm as he kept his eyes away from the bodies and looked to Vanille. "And you?"

"I'm Vanille." she introduced. She seemed like she was about to say more, but an explosion from behind them shook the area. It was a little too close for comfort. Ace gritted his teeth as he grabbed Hope's arm and pulled him forward.

"Come on, we should keep moving before more come." he said. He didn't have to look back when he heard cries of the unfortunate. Ace never found it strange that he barely flinched at the sound. Strangely enough, he didn't concern himself with it. He wasn't in immediate danger, and neither was Vanille and Hope. His only thought was getting them out.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

._._._._._.

Lebreau cursed. She lost sight of Ace and she wasn't sure if Snow and Gadot was alright. She shook her head. No, Snow and Gadot are too stubborn to die. There wasn't a need to worry about them.

Unfortunately, she couldn't categorize Ace on the safe side yet. He was still a bit blank and knew nothing about everything. She doubted that Ace could even handle himself in a battle. When she first found him, he was clueless and completely lost. He was like a child that knew nothing but the basics.

Yet...at the same time, Lebreau felt that she didn't need to worry too much. The way Ace had held himself was so formal, and his clothes were practically screaming that he was a student. But where? They didn't have a school that had uniforms like that! Ace was probably some rich kid that came from another part of Cocoon entirely... with the high possibility that he wouldn't survive this ordeal.

"Maqui, did you count how many kids we found?" Lebreau asked as she walked up to their youngest member.

"Well, I counted about sixteen." Maqui said as he placed his hands behind his head.

"You can make that nineteen!" came a familiar voice above them. They both turned to see Ace staring right at them. His clothes were stained with a few splatters of blood, but he didn't seem to notice. A pink haired girl was waving at them with a relieved smile while she pulled a white-haired teen up to the ledge.

"We made it!" said the girl. Lebreau couldn't help but stare right back at Ace with her eyes wide.

"Holy-Ace?!" Yuj said as he jogged to Maqui side.

"You're alright!" Maqui cried. Ace finally cracked a smile as he gave a small wave. Lebreau breathed a sigh of relief as Ace helped the white-hiared teen to their level. The pink haired girl leapt down with ease. Lebreau hurried over to the group of three, relief clear on her face.

"Lebreau-" Ace never got to finish as she suddenly embraced him. She never actually hugged him before, so she was surprised by the firm, toned muscles underneath his clothes. Ace was stiff with surprise as he looked over to Maqui and Yuj with confused eyes. She pulled away and looked down at him.

"What took you so long?" Lebreau asked, half relieved that he was safe, and half upset that he made her worry. Ace didn't look away as he responded without missing a beat.

"We ran into a few soldiers that tried to gun us down." he said honestly.

"It wasn't just a few! It was about ten or so. You should've seen him! He took out everyone without any help!" the pink haired girl chipped in. Ace turned his head in her direction and frowned a little.

"Vanille..."

"He what?!" Maqui exclaimed. Yuj came up and placed a hand on Ace's shoulder.

"Who knew you could do that!" he said with a smile. Lebreau was surprised. She never expected that Ace could do that. But, as she looked over him again, it would explain the blood on his clothes yet there wasn't a single injury other than his bleeding hand. Heck, it was a high possibility that none of the blood was even his.

"Lebreau?" Ace's voice snapped her out of her musings and she looked at him. He wore a slight frown on his face. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

She blinked at him for a moment, before breaking into a smile as she patted his shoulder. "It's alright. Just be more careful, will you?"

Ace smiled as he nodded. "I promise."

._._._._._.

"Do you need help?" Hope asked as he watched Ace wrapping scrap of cloth over his now infected hand. He was lucky enough that Lebreau tore a piece from those weird coats, so he didn't complain. The cut had now widened and swelled with the edges were angry red with irritation. The blood seeping out of the wound was low, making Ace thank his luck that it wasn't any worse. Ace know he really needed to get this checked, but what choice did he have? There was nothing that could ease the burning pain. He eventually gave up tying the cloth by himself with a defeated sigh.

"Yes, please." he said, holding out his injured hand to Hope. He tried not to make a sound as Hope tied the cloth neatly around his hand.

"You know those people?" Hope asked, just trying to fill the slightly awkward silence between them. Ace tiled his head.

"Who? Lebreau and the others?" With a nod from Hope, Ace smiled a little. "Yeah, I know them. I live with them."

"Oh, so you weren't visiting Bohdum, then!" Vanille suddenly said, skipping over to them. She was just checking on a few children around to see if they were alright, and with the bright smile on her face told Ace that they were. "How's life there?"

Ace pressed his lips together as he looked away for a moment, right when Hope finished tying his makeshift bandage. "Well, I can't say for sure. I mean, I only started living living with them just last wee-" He wasn't able to finish as the sounds of flying machinery filled the air.

"Hey!" came a voice above them. Ace looked over to see a familiar flash of white and instantly recognized it.

"Snow?" As soon as the name left his lips, he took note of how Hope tensed but decided to set that to the side. He turned to his new found friends, "I'll be right back."

Ace ran over to the gathered members of Nora, watching Snow land a machine he never seen before in his life... or at least he never thought he did.

"Snow! You made it!" Maqui said.

"Yeah, by the nick of time." Snow said with a grin. He looked over to Ace and let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad you're still here, Ace."

Ace couldn't help but shake his head at the answer. "I'm not that hopeless, thank you."

"Yeah, you should've heard what a couple of other kids said about him! He fought off a bunch of them all on his own." Maqui said. The said teen sighed and placed a hand on his hip. He didn't need the praise...

At the corner of his eye, Ace caught Snow looking away for a moment.

"Kids, huh... Is everyone alright?" Snow suddenly asked. Maqui and Yuj took one glance at each other and suddenly stepped before Ace, surprising the teen.

"Wha-"

"The army is no match for NORA!" the two said in unison. Ace felt a little awkward as they struck a pose with their guns toward Snow. At the last second, Ace looked between the two before throwing an uneasy smile.

"Ye-y-yeah...!" he tried, faltering at how stupid it sounded. He heard Lebreau snort and remark how late he was as Gadot just flat out laughed at him.

"Not you guys. I mean the kids." Snow said, shaking his head in amusement. The two boys dispersed and laughed a bit, leaving Ace to feel a bit awkward.

"All accounted for!" Yuj said as he nodded.

Snow looked away and seemed troubled. "Okay, good."

"Is something wrong?" Ace asked, tilting his head a bit.

"It's nothing, Ace." Snow said, giving him a grin. He address everyone else. "Alright, I'm going to save my wife-to-be. You guys make sure the kids stay safe."

"You got it, Snow." Gadot said as he tapped his gun on his shoulder and Snow started up the vehicle again. "Just make sure you don't forget to invite us to your wedding!"

"Don't worry, none of you are invited!" Snow said as he took into the air.

"What?! Not fair!"

"Oh, come on, Snow!"

Ace just gave him a small smile accompanied with a short wave. "Please be safe."

He was sure that Snow didn't hear him over the sound of the engine as he took off. There was a smack on the back of his shoulder as Gadot passed him.

"Come on, Ace," he said over his shoulder, "We're on guard duty!"

Everyone else began to move back to the group, but Ace stayed back. He decided to see Snow off even long after he disappeared from his sight.

"How long are you going to stand there?" asked a voice behind him. To his credit, he didn't jump or flinch as he turned around. Vanille was standing with her hands on her hips with a questioning look on her face. Hope was right behind her, his head bowed and posture completely unsure.

"Ah...that's a good question." Ace said, placing one hand on his hip as he looked over to Hope. "You okay?"

When the teen didn't answer, Ace looked to Vanille as she gave an answer, "I think he's upset since you were talking to Snow so casually."

"Snow? Why-" He cut himself off, suddenly remembering what happened just an hour ago. Hope's scream, the bridge breaking, his inability to save them... He frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, Hope."

"It's...not your fault. I just wanted to tell him that-that..." Hope trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Vanille and Ace shared a look before she grabbed the card wielder's arm.

"Hey! You know how to fly this?" she asked, forcing him into the seat of the vehicle thingy Gadot used.

"W-what?! No, I don't even know what that is!" Ace rushed, trying to get out, but Vanille was blocking his way with an arm. She grinned at him and turned to Hope.

"Do you?" she asked him. Hope looked a bit uneasy as he looked at the controls before nodding.

"M-maybe." he answered honestly, but then his eyes widened in shock. "Wait-I don't think-! Wait!" Vanille cheered as she grabbed Hope and practically stuffed him right in front of Ace. "Gah!"

"Wait-Hold on!" Ace went unheard as she shoved him over to give her some space. He was teetering off the other side but he managed to keep his balance as she took a seat next to him. "This is not gonna-!"

"Onward!" she ordered, pointing at the Pulse Vestige.

"You're serious..." the boys said in unison, but for completely different reasons. Ace was just shocked at how this girl can be so forceful!

"But we can't go there! If we do, they'll turn us into l'Cie...and then-" Hope began. Vanille frowned a bit and patted his shoulder.

"No, you can do it. You have to go after, Snow right?" she said, encouraging him. Ace looked over her head and gritted his teeth.

"Guys, Gadot-"

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU THREE DOING?! ACE!"

"Too late." Ace deadpanned as Hope panicked.

"N-nevermind! Let's go!" he said as he quickly turned it on. The vehicle spluttered to life and leaped into the air. Ace gripped on the edge of the vehicle like it was his lifeline. His skin paled and he felt dizzy just looking down at the pitch black darkness underneath him. There was no way in hell was he letting go.

"Come back here! Ace! Tell them to turn back! Now!" Gadot yelled at the top of his lungs. Ace looked over his shoulder and gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'll protect them!" he said, right before they lurched forward. It was a rocky start with all the sudden frightening drops they got, but within a few seconds, Hope managed to get a hang of the vehicle, much to Ace's relief. Honestly, he didn't know how in the world Vanille was freaking laughing. Once they steadied, they were on their way toward the Pulse Vestige. He looked back to see not only Gadot yelling at him, but also Lebreau and Maqui begging him to come back. He couldn't hear their yells over the sound of the vehicle. Feeling a bit guilty, he closed his eyes and silently wished that they would forgive him.

He didn't realize that it would be the last time he would see them in a long while.

._._._._._.

Even though Hope knew how to control the vehicle, he had absolutely no idea how to land it. Hence why Ace had opted to clamp his mouth shut instead of scream his head off when they entered the Vestige through a crack.

"Oh, damn it! I have to get off first!" he cursed as he felt the vehicle tilt on his side. He knew that if he didn't get off now, he would be crashing into the floor. That was something he wanted to avoid, thank you very much. So, once he was sure they were in some sort of room with a flat floor, he slipped right off. His momentum kept moving him to the side, causing him to crash into the floor and roll several feet. His hand burned when he tried to grab at something to stop his roll, but he found nothing. He heard Hope and Vanille's screams die out and the vehicle crashed somewhere.

He laid there on the ground for a moment to calm his fast beating heart and get his bearings, trying to keep his mind off his now burning red hand. He had to admit, he was never, ever doing that again. Groaning, he sat up. He took note of the broken, beat up vehicle at the side, and a seemingly fine, yet passed out Hope and Vanille. Ace stood up and brushed himself off with his uninjured hand, making sure that all of him was still there. He was surprised that his deck of cards remained untouched despite the landing he took. Heck, he was surprised that he wasn't injured at all!

"Vanille? Hope? You guys okay?" he asked as he approached them. Slowly, the two woke up, groaning at the aches that ran though their bodies. If anything, Ace probably got a better landing than them.

"Ow, that hurts..." Vanille said as she slowly got up. Hope practically scrambled off of her, considering the awkward position they were in. Ace sighed in relief.

"Well, you seem fine enough to me." he said as he helped Hope to his feet. He knew he didn't need to help Vanille since she was energetic enough to complain. He dusted Hope off and patted his head with a smile. "You're fine."

Once he was sure that they were alright, he took a look around the area they landed in. It seemed like a floor of some sort with a huge space for the strangest things he seen. The patterns were so odd to him that Ace just knew he had never seen this before. It also bothered him how dead silent it was, without Vanille's input about their broken vehicle. "There's no one here."

"Well, what do you expect?" came Hope's voice, causing Ace to look at him as he continued, "Even soldiers know not to come near the Fal'Cie. You become a Pulse l'Cie and you're as good as dead."

"Oh, don't talk like that!" Vanille butted in. "Let's go take a look around since we're stuck here. It should get your mind off of things."

"...You were the one who led us here." Hope muttered as she started to skip off. Ace placed a hand on his hip.

"Weren't you the one who drove?" he asked, not really meaning anything by it as he began to follow Vanille. He had to pause when he noticed Hope not following. "Come on, Hope. I don't want to be here anymore than you do."

"I don't really think..." Hope trailed off as Ace kept moving. Sighing, he jogged to Ace's side and stayed close, wary of his surroundings. A sound of delight escaped Vanille's lips as she leapt up at a abnormally large jar.

"Vanille-!" Hope began as they spotted her pull something from near the mouth of the jar. It looked like some sort of...wishing bone? Ace shook his head. He didn't know what it was. She gave them a smile as she tested it out, swinging it back and forth and posing here and there.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked as she showed it off again.

"Uhm...I guess it works." Hope said, shrugging his shoulders. Ace placed a hand on his hip. He didn't know what to tell her, so he just nodded. Vanille pocketed the thing and began to lead the way. The boys followed after her without much of a choice. Hope seemed to keep to himself as Ace looked all around, amazed that something could be built this way. It looked so complicated that it was just hardly believable.

"Aren't you scared?" Hope asked as he tugged on Ace's sleeve. Ace regarded him with a glance.

"...Maybe. I feel like I should, but I don't really understand what's going on." he answered honestly. Hope gave him an odd look before looking to Vanille who kept looking around.

"Not so much, honestly." she said. Hope slowly pulled Ace to a stop.

"You guys don't get it, do you?" he said, looking at them like they were crazy. Vanille finally stopped an turned to face them. She huffed and waved a finger as she paced.

"Pulse Fal'Cie and l'Cie are a bad thing. That's why Cocoon gets rid of them." She held out one hand, suddenly stopping. "You live too close to a Fal'Cie; a one way ticket to Pulse." She turned around and placed her hands on her hip. "That's the Purge in a nutshell."

"Uhm, mind explaining what a Pulse l'Cie is? Or rather, what's a l'Cie?" Ace asked as he placed a hand on his hip. Hope looked up at him in surprise.

"You don't know what a l'Cie is?" he asked incredulously. Ace tilted his head with a slightly blank look.

"Should I?"

"...I think you should be a bit afraid, you know." Vanille said. Ace gave her a look.

"Well, I just don't know what it is. I would if you'll just explain it to me." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Hope sighed and frowned.

"A l'Cie is a human who is branded by a Fal'Cie to complete a Focus. They're given magical powers to help them, but if they don't complete their Focus, they'll turn into Cie'th. Once you become a Cie'th, it's the end for you." he explained. Ace hummed in slight understanding.

"So, we're in a Fal'Cie that could potentially turn us into l'Cie?" he asked, making sure he had it right. Hope nodded.

"Even if we survive this, they'll find us and purge us into Pulse-" he was cut off as Vanille interrupted.

"What's so bad about Pulse?" she asked.

"It's hell on earth! That's what!" Hope snapped, stomping his foot. It surprised Ace a bit, but he decided to ignore it when he felt something off.

"Calm down, Hope-" He didn't hear the end of what Vanille was saying as he tuned her out. His light blue eyes scanned the area around them an noticed something move. Instinctively, Ace drew a card from his pouch and held it readily. Not even a second later, a weird monster of some sort launched itself toward him, leaping out from behind a pillar with a roar.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ace flicked his wrist and his card flew the air. There was a sharp cry from the monster as he watched his card slice right through the monster and embedded itself into the pillar behind. He didn't even budge as the monster crippled to the floor, just stopping a foot from his feet.

"Ace! Are you okay?!" Vanille exclaimed as the two hurried to Ace's side. Hope flinched at the sight of the monster's guts seeping out of its wound and did his best to ignore it.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ace assured her, stepping over the dead monster to retrieve his card. Strangely enough, it wasn't covered with the crimson blood of the monster. Instead, the blood was splattered on the pillar, almost as if it was thrown on there by the force of his throw. Ace didn't think it was scientifically possible, but he decided to ignore it as he yanked it out of the stone. He turned to the shocked faces of his two companions.

"Come on, we shouldn't stay here for long. Getting branded is the least of our problems at the moment." He told them, not putting his card away. If there were monsters here, then it was better to be safe than sorry. His right hand was definitely out of commission now, considering how badly infected his cut became. He held his card with his left hand. He may not be left handed naturally, but just by holding it, he could tell that he knew how to handle his cards with either hand.

He began to lead the way, just hoping to find a way out of here... He suddenly paused, looking at them with confusion. "Wait a minute, why are we here?"

"Well-" Vanille began, but a faint voice cut her off.

"Serah! Where are you? Can you hear me?"

There was an odd silence that fell upon them as the voice took a moment to register in their heads.

"Oh! It's Snow-Ah..." All excitement in Ace's voice immediately died as he looked back to see Hope's fists shaking in anger. He had forgotten that the boy definitely hated Snow, but Ace just couldn't understand. Why was Hope so mad at Snow? Why was Hope so angry over a person dying? A single word popped into his head a moment later.

Grief.

Ace paused. Grief? He knew the word, and yet, there was no definition following right after it, nor an emotion. It was completely blank, almost as if he never felt it before in his life. Just what... what is grief?

There was a sudden tap on his shoulder that pulled him away from his thoughts. He immediately took note of Vanille giving him an odd look. "Are you okay? You spaced out for a second."

"Yeah," he assured. They both looked over to Hope. Ace held out a hand to Hope. "Hope, let's go. Best we stuck together, right?"

That seemed to have snapped Hope out of his own thoughts as he looked at Ace's offered hand. His face flushed in embarrassment. "I'm not a child!"

Confusion crossed Ace's face as Hope hurried past him. Vanille followed after Hope, leaving Ace behind. Ace didn't understand what Hope meant by that statement, seeing how Hope was a child anyway. He shook his head and followed after them at his own pace. So much for trying to understand everything.


	5. A Fal'Cie

Chapter 5: A Fal'Cie

In all honesty, Ace was at a loss of what to do. When a set of stairs appeared out of nowhere, they didn't have much of a choice, seeing how it was the only way to move on. Hell, he was pretty damn sure that he _wasn't_  supposed to be here in the first place...and yet, he felt like he was home. Hope made it clear that it was flat out stupid to waltz (and when he said "waltz" he meant crash) into the Pulse Vestige with the high risk of turning into a l'Cie.

For some odd reason, Ace couldn't help but feel something didn't sit right with him. Sure, he understood that becoming a l'Cie was a bad thing... but was it really that way? Despite living a life of near eternity, l'Cie were supposed to follow their will; the Cry-

Ace blinked when his thoughts suddenly came to a complete blank. Confusion and slight panic stirred in him as he came to a slow stop in the middle of a platform, Vanille and Hope not noticing his halt. He knew he was on to something, and yet... he couldn't reach it. It was just  _right there-!_

"What are those things?!" Hope's panicked voice snapped Ace out of his thoughts. Vanille was already pulling out her weapon as Hope did the same. Ace took a quick glance and tensed, pulling a card from his deck and holding it ready. Weird, deformed beings were passing through some sort of gate and heading right toward them, blocking any sort of escape... Well, he could jump, but he doubted that Hope could jump eight feet high.

To his own surprise, Ace answered Hope's question before Vanille could. "Rursus...?"

Immediately, Vanille shook her head. "No, they're Cie'th!"

Hope shared a look of confusion with Ace as Vanille continued grimly. "All them were once l'Cie. This is what happens with l'Cie that don't complete the Focus the Fal'Cie gave them."

The three slowly grouped up, backs facing each other as the Cie'th came closer.

"Wh-what now?" Hope asked, his grip tightening on his boomerang. Ace was saved from answering when a battle cry sounded out of nowhere. He watched in slight amazement as a recognizable person barged through the crowd of Cie'th and rolled up to him. Snow had his fists ready to fight with a grim grin on his face.

"Don't worry! We'll be fine!" he said. Ace turned his attention away from Snow and mentally shook his head as he leapt at their enemies. He couldn't help but wonder if Snow was an idiot or...

Ace already took down four of the Cie'th, cutting the sickly pale skin with his cards and placing well-timed kicks with ease. He stole a glance at the white-haired man, who wrestled with a nearby Cie'th, and recalled all the times the NORA leader acted like a fool. He made his final conclusion of Snow.

...Yup, he was an idiot through and through.

When he focused back on fighting, he couldn't help but feel like everything was just completely _**wrong**_. The very fact that he was actually kicking the monsters, and rolling on the ground to dodge was just... _out of place_. It just wasn't his style either.

Ace blinked for a second as he threw his card at a Cie'th gunning toward a preoccupied Hope, killing it instantly.

...Since when did he have a style?

In a matter of minutes, the Cie'th were all slain and everyone regrouped at the platform. Ace was grimacing as he flicked off the sticky residue off his card. It kind of bothered him how he only used a single card the entire time. He knew he could fight with more but without ma-

His thoughts were cut off again, leaving him a bit frustrated. Why was it so hard to finish his thoughts now? Was there something wrong with him...?

"What are you doing here? You need to make a run for it. This place is not for kids." Snow practically scolded them as he approached the teens. Hope was on the group, trying to catch his breath while Vanille rested her hands on her knees doing the same. Ace returned his card to its rightful place in his pouch and looked right at Snow, not feeling winded or anything.

"Then shouldn't you be running too?" he asked, not really meaning much, only curious. His question seemed to have bothered Snow as Vanille laughed nervously. Snow looked troubled as he scratched the back of his head with a sigh of defeat.

"Listen, I'm here for Serah. Once I find her, we'll all go home together, alright? Go keep out of sight and be quiet so you won't be disco-" He didn't finish when he caught the look of slight irritation Ace was giving him.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think hiding will be the best option at the moment. We stay here, then we're dead." Ace said bluntly, placing a hand on his hip out of pure habit. "Besides, if we go with you, the moment we find Serah, the less time you will have to find us."

Snow was taken aback with Ace's quite reasonable explanation. With Ace's sharp (yet blank) eyes staring right at him, he was beginning to wonder what kind of kid did Lebreau pick up. A normal kid would've been a bit on the scared side, and yet Ace was completely calm, almost as if he's been through something similar before. Heck, Snow couldn't help but think that Ace was a bit too mature for his age without his memories! Which lead to one little question...

Just where did Ace come from?

Eventually, Snow gave up and sighed. Even if he asked Ace of his origins, he wouldn't get an answer anyway.

"You're right. I shouldn't leave you guys." Snow said, frowning as he placed a hand on his hip. "Come on, let's go before more find us."

Vanille looked a bit uneasy as she shared a look with Hope, who seemed to be distraught with the turn of events. Ace sighed as he helped Hope up from the ground. He knew that the younger teen didn't want to be near snow, but Ace was sure that they wouldn't last very long by themselves without Snow.

"Come on, Hope," Ace said, "You can talk to him a little later."

Reluctantly, Hope followed after him, seeing no other choice. Vanille nodded to herself and hurried a bit ahead.

"Wait!" she said, stopping Snow in his tracks, who hummed in acknowledgment. Vanille looked away for a moment before asking him a hesitant question. "Who's...who's Serah?"

Snow gave a short laugh as he threw a thumb toward himself. "My wife. Well, future wife."

Ace suddenly remembered a pink haired girl with half her hair tied to the side at the side of the beach back in Bohdum. "Oh, her! She's here?"

Snow's expression fell. "She's a Pulse l'Cie."

Ace noticed a flash of guilt on Vanille's face before it was replaced with sadness.

"She's here somewhere, along with the Fal'Cie. I'm going to save her." Snow added, starting to move ahead. Hope gritted his teeth and walked a little past Ace in anger.

"What's wrong with you?! Why are you going to save a l'Cie?! They're the enemy!"

Snow turned around to face the three teens and Hope faltered a little. "How can you save a l'Cie when you can't even save- save... That's not right!"

Ace nearly flinched at the harshness of Hope's voice and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him a little. Snow looked away for a second before putting a stupid grin on his face.

"Sorry, I'm an idiot, but it's something I've resolved myself to do." he said.

Ace sighed. At least he admitted he was an idiot.

._._._._._.

"Another elevator?" Ace muttered as he stepped onto the platform beside Vanille.

"Well, at least we're hitching a ride instead of climbing steps." she said with a slight shrug. Ace grimaced when he didn't agree with her.

"...I think I'm used to teleporting... or chocobos. Which ever comes first...?" Everyone was giving him a weird look as the elevator began its descent. He forced a grin and a short, weak laugh before looking away in embarrassment. "Forget I said anything."

The rest of the ride was spent in awkward silence for Ace as he looked around. He could see the ground from several feet up and took note that there were people down there. When they came closer, he recognized all of them. It was the same pink-haired woman and the man with the chocobo from the train he escaped from!

He couldn't help but feel a rush of slight relief. Seeing them alive was a good thing, he hoped. they were almost near the ground when he realized that the pink-haired woman was holding someone... His eyes widened in surprise. He definitely remembered her.

"Serah!" Snow cried out. Ace watched as the grown man hopped off their ride and rushed over to his future wife. He waited like a normal person and got off with Vanille and Hope once it stopped. As they approached the group, Vanille got a good look at Serah, gasping in surprise and taking a step back. No one noticed, seeing how they were concerned with other things, so Ace gave he a questioning look.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. She looked at him before shaking her head and keeping her gaze away from Ace.

"It's nothing." she assured. Ace decided to let her be, seeing how she didn't want to talk about it. He went over to the man with the chocobo.

"Ace, you're okay." the man said. Ace gave him a small nod.

"Yeah, you too. I never got your name." he said, not really looking at him. In truth, Ace wanted to find that little chocobo he saw in the man's hair...

Why in the world was he so interested in chocobos...?

"Oh, right, I'm Sazh." Sazh introduced. He then gestured to the pink-haired woman in a heated argument with Snow. "And that's Lightning."

Ace looked over to them and frowned. With the light pink hair that Serah had, he knew that Lightning was her older sister and Serah... was a l'Cie. She already looked like she was already at the end of her rope. He kept his distance, not wanting to interrupt them at all. He could barely hear Serah's weak voice as she spoke.

"You can save us." she said, staring up at Lightning. "Protect them. Protect...Cocoon."

_**"You..."** _

Ace turned his gaze away from them, feeling an odd sensation creep down his back. He took several steps back from Sazh, earning a look of concern from the man before turning around.

_**"It's you..."** _

Out of pure instinct, he looked past the group and stared right at the glowing door before him. The ominous seal taunted him, practically screaming in his face, "Come."

_**"It's really you."** _

Ace shook his head as shiver raced down his back. He tore his gaze away from the door, hearing Snow promise to Serah to protect Cocoon. After being reassured by Snow and Lightning, Serah turned her head, staring right at Ace. She gave an apologetic smile that unnerved Ace to the core.

"I'm sorry." As soon as those words left her lips, she began to glow a bright blue. Ace watched in slight horror as she floated into he air, glowing brighter and bright with each passing second. And just like that, Serah turned into crystal.

"Serah...! Serah!" Snow cried, trying to reach up to her. Ace stared up at the crystalized Serah with wide eyes.

"Sarah...? What... what happened to her?" He asked, his legs shaking from the surprise he felt. Hope answered him with a surprisingly clear voice.

"l'Cie who fulfill their Focus transform into crystal, and gain eternal life. Just like the stories." he said. Ace's hands slowly clenched as he watched Serah's crystal slowly float back down. Unease bubbled in him, making him increasingly uncomfortable as Snow wished her sweet dreams. Lightning was quick to lash out in anger.

"Sweet dreams? Sweet dreams?!" Lightning made her way around the crystal shoving Sazh out of the way and grabbing the cuff of Snow's coat. "She isn't sleeping! Serah's- She's-"

She cut herself off and shoved Snow away, frustration clear on her face. Ace felt a bit helpless as he watched on, already knowing that Snow was probably going to do something stupid.

"She's still alive!" Snow protested. "Remember? The stories? l'Cie who fulfill their focus is transformed into crystal and gain eternal life!"

He turned to everyone else. "It's the same thing! She's still alive!"

Hope looked unsure while Vanille seemed... sad. Sazh had to look away, not entirely believing in those stories. Snow went back to Lightning. "Sarah's my fiancé, and I promised to be with her forever! We have a future-"

Ace wasn't surprised when Lightning threw a punch at Snow's face, nailing him right in the cheek. Snow practically flew off her punch and hit the ground a few seconds later.

"What future are you talking about?" Lightning snapped. "This is no future! You're just running from the truth."

There was a moment of heavy silence, pressuring Ace to say something. The ground suddenly rocked and the whole Vestige shook, breaking Ace out of his self imposed pressure. Hope dropped to his knees while Ace just looked up.

"It's being attacked!" he cried.

"The Army!"

Ace completely lost his balance as he felt a sudden strain on his chest. The vigorous shaking of the Vestige didn't help him as it made his head spin. He couldn't tell who was saying what at this point.

"What is happening?!"

"It must be a Sanctum Strike! Take down the Vestige, then so does the Fal'Cie!"

Ace caught Vanille grabbing Sazh's hands in surprise. "They're not sending it back to Pulse?! Isn't that what the Purge was all about?!"

"They don't really care. All they want is to get everything from Pulse off of Cocoon! It doesn't matter if it's dead or alive!" Sazh snapped over the loud explosive noises. Ace felt Hope grab his arm and yanking him a little close.

"If we don't get out of here, they'll kill us all!" Hope wailed. Ace resisted the urge to wince, understanding that Hope was just scared... and not just yelling in his ear for fun. As if on cue, the rumbling slowly came to a stop, the danger passing over into a bit of peace. Everyone relaxed a little, grateful that it was over. Ace gritted his teeth as the seal disappeared. He got up and helped Hope to his feet as Snow placed a hand on Serah's crystalized one.

"I'll be right back." he assured her. With a determined look, Snow made his way to the stairs.

"Hey, what are you going to do?" Sazh asked. Snow stopped and gave him a look.

"I'm going to pay a visit to that Fal'Cie. Got some things to talk about." he said before resuming his way up the steps.

"What?! With that _thing_? Are you out of your _mind_ , kid?" Sazh snapped, raising his hands up in disbelief. "That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?!" Snow asked, facing him once more. Ace felt Hope flinch beside him, so he placed a reassuring hand on his head for a moment before adding his own two cents.

"Snow, I don't think-Ah..." Ace didn't finish as Lightning began to walk past Snow, heading straight for the door. He sighed as Sazh shook his head and followed after them. Ace shared a look with Vanille before shrugging.

"I guess we don't have a choice now, do we?" Ace asked her. Vanille offered a small smile.

"I guess not."

._._._._._.

Ace was just glad that he didn't have to drag Hope with him as they came to a room with the Fal'Cie. The moment he saw it, he wanted to run. Everything around it was completely silent as little particles of crystals floated in the air.

"Serah is a crystal now!" Snow began as he came a little closer to the metal structure. "You gave her your Focus and she finished it! Isn't that enough?! Let her go!"

There was a long silence as nothing happened. Snow started to get desperate as he fell on his knees and bowed his head. "Please. Turn her back! I'll even become your l'Cie if that's what you want!"

Silence still answered him, making Lightning scoff in frustration.

"Yeah, sure. You go on begging." she muttered as she pulled out her gun blade. "Like it gives a damn about what we want!"

She struck at it with all her might a few times, only to have her weapon fly out of her hands at the third try. Ace reached out a hand and caught the flying weapon that could've killed him with surprising ease. He wasn't sure how to hold it, so he settled with keeping one hand on the handle and resting the flat side of the blade on the palm of his bandaged hand.

"If it weren't for this thing, the Purge wouldn't have happened and people wouldn't be dying." Lightning said, standing up and glaring at the silent Fal'Cie. "Sarah wants us to save Cocoon. In order to to that, we need to beat this thing!"

The moment she said that, everything came to life. Literally. The room lit up from the lights emitting from underneath the metals. Gears started turning and things shifted. The little dome Lightning attacked shown brightly, slowly splitting apart and revealing the Fal'Cie. Ace blinked in surprise at the sheer amount of wires connected to some sort of organism with crystal. He felt a little grossed by it, but he pushed it to the side. He knew Lightning probably wanted her blade back right now.

"Lightning!" He called, throwing her weapon back. The former soldier looked at him and easily grabbed the gun blade. Ace heard Hope cry out on shock and started to run away. "Wait, Hope!"

He chased after Hope catching up to him easily and grabbing the back of Hope's jacket. Ace pulled him back, landing on his rear with Hope next to him, right before they crashed into the barrier that was formed.

"Are you alright?!" Vanille asked as she rushed up to them. Ace nodded as he stood up.

"Yeah, we're good." he answered. He took one look back and gritted his teeth. Already, the three adults in their group had began their fight against the Fal'Cie. He could tell that Sazh was no stranger to fighting, seeing how he was running around and firing his twin guns. Lightning was practically deadly with her combination of shooting and slashing. Snow... was just being Snow; brash and rash. There was no way Ace could help them. Even if he wanted to, he didn't have any other weapons other than his cards. He knew that just throwing them wouldn't work since he'd run out, and he just couldn't really part with them at all.

He gritted his teeth in helplessness. If there was one thing he can do, it was making sure Vanille and Hope stayed out of the way-

He gasped when a bright light took over the area once more, blinding everyone.

._._._._._.

Ace suddenly felt like he was floating in midair. Bells were tolling in a distance and he only saw darkness. Well, that was until he heard voices. "Where... are we?"

 _'Lightning!'_ Ace nearly sighed in relief when he heard others chip in with their own confused thoughts.

"What's going on!?"

A bright light obscured his vision once more and he found himself awfully close to an extraordinarily large, human-like, mechanical being. To be more precise, he was in the hand of the said being. He caught sight of the others a certain distance away. It hit him that he was separated from them. "Everyone!"

"Ace?" Hope's scared voice was barely heard as the bells grew louder, clearer. Ace watched in slight awe at the white streams of lights headed toward the others. It suddenly turned into horror as it grabbed them and retrained them.

"No! Stop!" Ace said, his eyes widening as a sense of dread washed over him. The Fal'Cie didn't listen to him as it sent five quick shots of lights toward them. Ace watched in devastation as his new found friends were marked. Was this really-!

He didn't have time to finish his own thoughts as streams of lights came toward him, wrapping around his body and leaving him completely open. He felt a slight twinge of pain in his wrists, momentarily forgetting about the others.

"Why...what are you?!" Ace cried as he struggled against his restraints. He cringed as they began to tighten, nearly forcing him to be still. A stream of white slowly approached him and touched his skin. Unlike his restraints, it splintered apart and seeped into his skin. Ace gasped, throwing his head back when he felt a drowning sensation flood over him. He couldn't breathe, nor could he move. It was as if he was trapped...yet at the same time, he felt like he's done this before.

_**"You...you have returned."** _

"W-what?" Ace breathed as a voice echoed in his head. It sounded so familiar, yet he couldn't remember where it came from. A surge of energy ran through his veins, burning yet healing him at the same time. "Ngh!"

_**"You have finally returned to Us."** _

"Let me go!" he cried.

_**"And yet it seems that you are not alone."** _

He gasped as a name suddenly appeared in his head. Immediately, he screamed it at the top of his lungs. "ANIMA!"

_**"These four refuse to leave you."** _

Ace screamed as a he felt like he was being torn apart, yet getting stitched back together gently. His thoughts became mushed together to the point where he could no longer pin point where up or down was.

_**"...So be it."** _

When though his senses were dulling, Ace vaguely felt something burn into existence right under his elbow. He could no longer cry out since his throat turned raw.

_**"Welcome home, Child."** _

He fell.

._._._._._.

_Bright lights._

_A burning bird and an azure dragon emerging together._

_A white tiger and a black turquoise_

_The world crashing, yet a world land forming_

_Crystals gleaming..._

_A pool of blood._

_Utter Blackness._

._._._._._.

_**"Walk on wandering souls, for your respite we pray,"** Ace sang softly, gently caressing a dozing, newly-hatched chocobo on his lap. **"Let our humble song clear your hearts of dismay."**_

_His eyes were closed as he relaxed against the baby chocobo's mother. The large bird cooed as Ace sang. **"Rekindle the flame in your souls and set you free..."**_

_A set of footsteps were barely audible to Ace as he smiled to himself, singing the last verse he knew. **"So walk on and become the light that guides the way..."**_

_"There you are, Ace." came a voice from the stable door. The baby chocobo warked with surprise, causing the card wielder to let a small cry of dismay escape him and the mother to lift its head in curiosity. Ace sent a half-hearted glare at the reason for the baby chocobo's heart attack._

_"Machina, you scared the little chocobo! You're not supposed to do that!" he scolded as he gathered the little flailing chocobo scrambling around his legs. He held it close to his chest and delicately ran his thin hands though the chocobo's fragile feathers, effectively calming it with ease. A dark haired teen with green eyes leaned against the railing with a small smirk on his face._

_"It's still hard to believe that the leader of Class Zero has such a soft spot for chocobos." Machina said, entering the stable. Though it reeked of chocobo feathers and such, he was starting to get a hang of it; not minding the smell at all. "You're always serious on missions."_

_He took a seat near the mother chocobo and scratched its big, feathery head. It warked softly and leaned into Machina's touch, completely familiar with the teen's touch._

_"For a personality like yours, it's hard to believe that even take the time to see me here." Ace shot back, not looking up. "You're always with Rem or something."_

_Despite Ace's tone, Machina knew that he was smiling. "Hey, I've been coming down here for a while, Ace. Even Michiko here knows it."_

_"What did I miss?" the card wielder asked, looking up at his human companion. Despite having him just transferred into his class a few weeks ago, but Ace found himself all warmed up by him. In fact, it shocked him that Machina actually took the time to hang out with him._

_"Nothing much, just things you and Queen would already know." Machina assured._

_"Commander Kurasame didn't say anything about me skipping class?" Ace asked hesitantly. He usually never misses a class, but this morning, he really didn't mean it. Even though he knew there was a mission to prepare for in five days time, he couldn't bring himself to go to class or go to his check up with Mother. And that, was a first._

_"Well, he did. He said it was not like you to miss anything." Machina answered honestly. Bitting his lip, Ace leaned against Michio and closed his eyes. There was a reason why he didn't want to go. There was something bothering him. A few days ago, he definitely didn't mean to eavesdrop his Mother and the commandant arguing. What he discovered never seemed to leave him alone. That Izana person was dead and yet, it was causing Ace so much trouble. Did he really cause his death?_

_The feeling grew worse when he woke up from some sort of dream he had while taking a very early morning nap on a bench. He wasn't supposed to remember him, and yet he could... or was it just hallucinations? Ace mentally shook his head, trying to set those thoughts aside for the moment and focus on the present._

_"Right. I'll apologize to him later." he promised. The little chocobo rubbed it's beak against his palm, practically asking him to rub its head._

_"Are you alright? Deuce was worried about you not being yourself lately." The question almost made Ace flinch. Was it that obvious?_

_"...I'll be fine." he said, unsure if he was telling Machina or himself that. Thankfully, Machina dropped the subject and took a seat next to Ace, gently petting the baby chocobo._

_"So, what's this little guy's name?" he asked as Ace hummed softly, coaxing the baby to go to sleep._

_"Hmm~... Chichiri." he said after a while._

_"Chichiri?" Machina echoed. "That's... a bit of a funny name."_

_"The name kept bothering me so I had to name it that." Ace defended himself, frowning a bit._

_"It's still a good name though." the older teen said with a bit of amusement on his voice. Ace nodded as the baby chocobo fell sound asleep. Michiko had long since lowered her head to the ground, dozing off lazily next to Machina's lap._

_An easy silence blanketed them, only filled with Ace softly singing the same melody._

_"Those lyrics... where are they from?" Machina asked after a while._

_"...Oh these lyrics? They're from a song Mother always used to sing to me." the card wielder answered with a grin on his face, remembering the times Mother would hold him close and sang that very song. "The words feel so soothing to me... Sometimes, when I'm feeling down, I just sing to myself."_

_Ace's grin softened to a gentle smile, "There's a sense of sadness in the lyrics, but it's tinged with hope—I like that."_

_"...Yeah, I agree."_


	6. One Hell of a l'Cie

Chapter 6: One hell of a l'Cie

Pain.

That was all he felt. Ace gritted his teeth as he slowly came too. He was lying on his side, curled slightly. His vision was completely blurry as he tried to figure out what in the world happened to him. All he saw was a mass of blue and white. It took him a while until his sight finally cleared. He groaned as he tried to sit up, his muscles screaming at the movements. There was an iron taste in his mouth, making him wonder if he bit the inside of his lip or something. Worried, he touched his cheek and pressed against it lightly. He didn't feel any flaring pain in his skin, which made him wonder just where the blood was coming from.

Then he coughed. His throat burned with each wet cough he spluttered, spiting out bits of blood that came with it. Fortunately, his little fit didn't last long. Once he was able to breathe, he uncurled himself from his position on the floor and attempted to get up once more.

He was forced to take a breather once he managed to sit up without falling over. Everything just...  _hurt:_ the soreness in his throat, the fiery pain in his chest, the pins and needles that laced his skin, the plain ache that accompanied his every move... He didn't know how in the world he was still alive in the first place!

Lifting his head up, he finally took in his surroundings, gaping at the sight. He was surrounded by crystalized waves with bits and chunks of metal jutting out of different places. He bit the back of his bottom lip as he pushed himself off the ground and stood shakily.

There was no one around him, making him wonder what happened to the others. Was Hope and the others alright? He didn't recall seeing Vanille amongst the others while they were branded by Anima...

He perked up when he suddenly remembered a burning sensation on his forearm, right before the elbow. Immediately, Ace lifted up his right arm and frowned. There, in a easily noticeable grayish-black color, was the brand of a l'Cie covered in his blood. He didn't feel the urge to sigh as he dropped his arm back down in defeat.

What in the world was going on? He never expected that huge thing to start talking to him... Wait, did Anima treat the others the same way he was treated? Or was Ace really segregated from the group?

Ace shook his head, backing his thoughts back a little more. Anima... Ignoring the fact of the Fal'Cie actually talking to him, where in the world did Ace know its name? Was it a connection to any of the lost memories he had...? And what did Anima mean "Welcome Home"?!

...And that dream... He was pretty damn sure that a portion of that was a memory. It felt too real to be a figment of his imagination. Ace was about to store it in his head to assure himself it wasn't just a dream, but he was already forgetting chunks of it. Who...who was that? Machina...

For some odd reason that name was bothering more than he thought.

He groaned, starting to feel the heavy weight of the stress that accompanied his self-questioning. Sighing, he painstakingly stood, bitting back the whimpers. He took one stumbling step after another, feeling only a bit of his strength return as he kept moving. After a few minutes, Ace was able to move with only flashes of pain jolting him if he stumbled. He had absolutely no idea where to go. He was pretty sure that he was somewhere near the vestige, seeing how it was stuck in the vast crystal seas from a distance.

Exhaustion was starting to weigh upon Ace, but he fought it. He knew for a fact that it was dangerous to stay in one place for so long. Dying now meant never finding out the answers to his questions!

Then he saw it.

A glimpse of some thing moving behind the crystalized waves. Ace blinked, letting it register in his head for a moment, before making his way over there.

It could be Snow! Or it could be Hope, or anyone, or-

"Find the l'Cie and hunt them down, right?"

Or, they could definitely not be what he was hoping. Ace immediately silenced his movements and pressed himself flat against one of the waves. His heart leapt to his throat when he caught sight of a whole group of soldiers walking down a path.

"...I'm not sure if we should be killing anyone in sight though. I mean, what if they weren't l'Cie?" muttered one of the soldiers. "I bet out of the hundreds we gunned down weren't even guilty."

Seven. That's how many he counted. Ace leaned back and closed his eyes, willing himself to turn invisible. They were so  _damn_  close that Ace had to force himself to keep himself calm.

"Guilty? Hah! They were living with a Fal'Cie. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all branded without them knowing it." spat another one.

Ace prayed to whatever deity that they would just keep moving, pass right by him and-

"Alright, enough out of you idiots. The Purge mission is still going." commanded a gruff voice, "Fan out and shoot if you find something."

For some odd reason, Ace felt completely calm, only panicking just a slight bit. He had no weapon on him, nor did he even have the strength to last a battle.

At least, that was what he thought.

Not even a minute passed when a pair of soldiers walked right past him. Ace's eyes widened in surprise when one of them started to turn towards him.

"I seriously-" the soldier didn't finish when they caught sight of Ace, blinking in surprise. "What the?!"

Ace didn't have a moment as he threw himself to the side, narrowly dodging a myriad of bullets. The other soldier cursed, aiming at the card wielder. Ace didn't even  _think_  as he leapt out of the way once more.

"Kill him! He's getting away!" cried one of them. Ace gritted his teeth as he ran for his life. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins, giving him the much needed energy to leap over debris and dodge the bullets flying his way. He didn't even know where the heck he was going, but he he didn't give a  _damn_  at the moment. He only caught a quick glimpse over his shoulder and inwardly cursed.

The whole group of soldiers were heading his way.

His breathes were soon coming in gasps as he skidded around the corner. He had no weapons, not enough energy, and no ma-

Ace just stopped thinking, completely done with all of the confusion and self-questioning he brought upon himself. All common sense was thrown out the window as he stopped dead in his tracks at a clearing. Seven deformed figures of Cie'th towered before him, sluggishly moving their bodies in any random direction. Ace paled.

He didn't even move when he heard the rest of the soldiers catch up to him with guns at the ready.

"Aha! We have you trapped now-" any further words died on the commander's lips as Ace took a slow step back when one of the Cie'th faced them.

"Ah, shi-" Ace didn't even hear the end of that word. At that very moment, he did the very first thing that came into Ace's head.

RUN.

So, he did.

The rapid gunfire and the dying shouts of the soldiers only urged him to run even faster. He didn't even have to cast a glance over his shoulder to know that the Cie'th had already killed them all. He  _definitely_  didn't have to pause to check if the Cie'th were coming for him. Hell, Ace didn't even want to stop, even when his lungs were burning, his legs were aching, and his head was spinning with frantic mantra of, "WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!"

It wasn't long before he was cornered. Ace had no choice but to come to a stumbling stop before he rammed into a wall. Gritting his teeth, he turned to face the little horde of Cie'th that followed him. He nearly blanched. He counted eight right off the bat. How in the world he didn't lose them, he had no idea. He backed away slowly, trying to give himself a bit of room.

The Cie'th moved closer, making noises that made Ace just want to run... if only there was a way-

_"Cards, Mother?"_

Ace blinked as a young voice echoed in his head, sending shivers down his back. That voice sounded eerily like his own.

_"_ _Yes, Ace. But these cards are no ordinary cards."_

Confused, Ace reached into his pouch and hastily pulled out a card as the Cie'th inched their way closer.

_"These cards are powerful and they chose you to wield them."_

_"But... Mother, how will I know how to use them?"_

_"Ahaha, just hold them, dear. And you'll know what to do."_

He gasped, feeling a sensation flood through him in an instant. Despite the exhaustion, he felt a bit energized. It felt so familiar, that he couldn't place a finger on it-

No.

He could.

_Magic._

Before he realized what he was doing, Ace immediately brandished his card. A blue hue of energy covered the card in a flash as Ace raised his other hand. As his hand moved, three more cards appeared before him. They floated around him once before they shot forward, completely obliterating the closest Cie'th into chunks on the ground. Ace didn't give himself the moment to relish the tiny victory.

He leaped forward, disappearing into a few cards and reappearing a second later, right behind the group of Cie'th. Ace was surprised for a moment, but threw it to the side. He brandished another card from thin air and held it up. "Burst!"

The card delivered a powerful attack, completely blowing a hole in another Cie'th. Ace kept his posture straight as he summoned four cards with a flick of his hands. Those cards tore right through the next Cie'th, leaving five more. It roared its dead creepy cry.

"Holy-"

"Ace!"

The familiar voice of Snow caught his attention. Ace turned around to see the entire group of strangers behind him. Hope already backing away slowly; Vanille pulled out her weird weapon; Snow fell into a fighting position; Sazh reloaded his gun; and Lightning was already pulling out her gunblade to help him. Unfortunately, there was the sounds of gunfire from soldiers behind them. Ace gave her quick look before focusing on the advancing Cie'th.

"Go, take care of the soldiers! I'll be fine!" he ordered her. He wasn't sure if she followed him but he didn't have the time to check as a Cie'th swiped at him with a deformed arm. Ace jumped into his cards again, disappearing and reappearing a meter or two away.

"You're finished!" Ace threw out his hands. A circle of cards formed around him for a split moment, seemingly gathering bits of magic. Right at its peak, he willed the cards forward. The group of eight cards impaled itself into not only one, or two, but four Cie'ths spaced out and exploded, efficiently killing them. The Cie'ths were still for a moment before crumpling to the ground.

And then there was one.

He couldn't help the elated feeling in his chest. All of this just felt...  _right._ Almost as if this was how he was meant to fight. Ace flicked his hand in the air, summoning one last card in his hand. He eyed the last Cie'th with a slight smirk as it gunned toward him. "I won't let you!"

Then he threw his card. He didn't even stop to watch it sever into the grey flesh and quickly turned his attention to the soldiers attacking the group. He spotted Hope trying to fend off one of them, but tripped. He leaped once more, disappearing into a group of cards. This time, instead of showing up a few meters away, he reappeared before Hope. Ace was quick cut down the soldier with a single card and threw out a group of cards.

They swirled around him once before embedding themselves into the remaining soldiers, efficiently killing them.

But Ace wasn't done. A single card was pinched between his finger and thumb in one hand by his side. He held out his un-bandaged hand toward the corpses of both monster and humans. The corpses began to glow an eerie color, and, in a blink of an eye, shattered into particles. Everyone watched in shock as the particles into Ace, almost as if it belonged to him in the first place. He suddenly felt much lighter and the sore aches vanished, except his arm. Visibly, he didn't look like he was ready to topple over...ignoring the stain of dried blood at the corner of his mouth and the fresh blood on his arm, that is. Without thinking, he unwrapped his hand and revealed his hand. It was completely healed, not even a hint of a scar but left the red that once seeped out of the wound.

Ace turned around and heaved a silent sigh of relief before looking up to the group with a small smile. "That was a close call, huh?"

There was a heavy silence that met him as everyone was stunned to silence. Ace couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion. Did he do something wrong...?

"Uhm...you guys okay?" he asked a bit hesitantly.

"How..." Snow began, desperately searching for words. Lightning blinked out of her shock, and grabbed Ace's arm.

"Hey- Whoa!" Ace stumbled a little as Lightning practically lifted his arm in the air. The others gasped at the sight that met them. There, right above his elbow on his forearm, was the Brand. It was covered with Ace's own blood seeping from the very lines of the Brand.

Hope gasped while Snow cursed. "Damn it, I was careless."

"But that's impossible!" Vanille cried, catching everyone's attention. "I mean, you just became a l'Cie! How were you able to use your magic like that?"

"...I... I don't know." Ace answered honestly, meeting Lightning's unbelieving glare. "I mean, one moment we were in that Vestige, and somehow, I ended up waking up to soldiers hunting me down and a horde of Rursus- I mean, Cie'th. How was I supposed to  _not_  use magic?"

Sahz shook his head. "Kid, we're asking how are you so accustomed to using magic? Have you even  _used_  magic before?"

Ace looked to the side with a slight tilt of his head. "I... I don't know. It just came naturally." He perked up. "Wait, are you all..."

"Yeah." Hope answered for him, "We're l'Cie."

The card wielder blinked. Topic diverted! "So... does that mean that we're going to die?"

Lightning dropped his arm and gave him a look. "Ace, right?"

Ace clamped a hand over his Brand, smearing the blood and regarded her with a frown. "Yes."

"What is your Focus?" she asked.

"My... Focus?" Confusion was clear on his face. Sahz groaned and stepped up to him.

"Did you remember having a dream before you woke up?" he asked, his eyes silently telling him that it was important.

"Uhm... I... think?" Ace was beginning to feel uncomfortable as everyone immediately turned their attention on him.

"What did you see?" Snow asked, walking right up to him and placing his hands on Ace's shoulders. "Something big right? A monster?"

"A monster? What?" Ace shook his head. "No, I don't- Or maybe? I don't know!"

"Ragnarok." Lightning said, shifting her weight on one leg. "Does that ring a bell?"

Ace pushed himself away from Snow and shook his head. "It doesn't. But I do remember something burning."

Silence overtook everyone once again as they shared looks of confusion. Ace shook his head once more with a sigh.

"Ah, okay. Someone  _please_  explain to me what in the world is going on."

._._._._._.

"I don't like this. Why do kids have to get wrapped up into this mess?" Sahz asked, watching the three youngsters ahead of them as he came to a slow stop. Ace was standing near Vanille, watching as the girl encourage Hope to keep moving with a casual hand on his hip. They had gave the card wielder a brief overview of their situation, explaining that they had to get out of the place to complete their focus. Ace, while he didn't fully understand the gravity of the situation, decided that it would be best to just go with them. After all, he knew that he wouldn't be able to survive with the limited knowledge he had.

Sahz figured that Ace was a smart kid, maybe even smarter than he let on. The very raw power that Ace displayed immediately told Sahz that the young teen was no ordinary kid. Sure, his memories were a problem, but Ace in general was a good- no, a  _damn_  good fighter with those cards of his.

Snow came to a stop next to him, casually stretching. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep them out of trouble."

Sahz humphed as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, sure. The only problem with that is you're a kid yourself."

"Hm?"

"Our first mistake was taking on the Pulse Fal'Cie. We should've left it to the Sanctum." Sahz said as he looked over to the kids again. Ace was tilting his head at them as Vanille waved a hand to the adults. Hope wasn't going to join her until she grabbed his arm and raised it up, waving it frantically. Ace shook his head and turned to continue ahead, but Vanille caught him. She grabbed Ace's arm and pulled him back. Ace let out a short yelp as he tripped over his own feet and fell. Vanille was smart enough to let him go before he took her with him. "I mean, why not? We depended on them our entire lives, since it provided everything we needed."

"But, you ended up helping us, too." Snow said, drawing Sahz's attention from the kids. "There's gotta be a reason why."

"Maybe. Not sure anymore though." Sahz answered, walking ahead. Snow shared a quick look with Lightning, before following. Sahz was no doubt hiding something.

._._._._._.

Ace kind of felt a bit out of place again. He had gone through so much in so little time... It was beginning to make him wonder if he wasn't actually dreaming all of this. Unfortunately, the pain he felt when he pinched himself (he was stronger than he thought) told him that he was  _definitely_  awake. That little stunt that Vanille pulled earlier was also another hint that it was real. And to make matters worse, the look of fear and frustration Hope held just reenforced it.

All the talk about PSICOM and l'Cie was making his head spin. First, if they didn't move, they were screwed if PSICOM sends in someone stronger than the runts they encountered. Second, they needed to get out of this mess and find a way to complete their Focus... whatever that was. According to Snow, they had to save Cocoon and Serah, but the looks on everyone else's faces said otherwise. Plus, Ace couldn't agree with the idiot. Third, either way they'd die with or without completing their Focus.

To quickly and bluntly sum it up in Ace's head, they were genuinely screwed.

Of course, Ace had a bit of a difficult time convincing himself that magic was something  _normal_ people didn't use. In fact, Vanille flat out told him that only l'Cie could use magic. He was also well aware that the adults were keeping a close eye on him (especially Lightning). The very fact that he fought with magic cards brought up several suspicions. Already, Ace had a theory that he might've been a l'Cie before. Though he might not remember, he knew for a fact that magic was an everyday thing to him. It was so...  _natural_. Almost as if he probably couldn't live without it.

And, yet, when the group encountered more enemies, Ace didn't bother to... dissipate? Shatter them? Collect whatever they had? Ugh, he didn't know. He didn't know what in the world he did earlier. But, he did know that the others would've like it if he did it again, so, he didn't. It was difficult to hold himself back from doing it again, but somehow and someway, he managed it.

"Serah?" Lightning's whisper brought Ace out of his musing. He looked up to see the woman starring in one direction. Confused, he followed her gaze and blinked. There, suck in a wave of crystal, was Serah.

"Serah!" Snow practically barreled past him, heading straight to Serah's crystal. He stood there for a moment, watching the others hurry after him and assist him with getting Serah out. He was about to go and help, but took note that Lightning never said anything. She stood there, staring at Serah's face, before suddenly turning away.

"Ah, Lightning?" Ace said as she walked past him, but was ignored by her strong front. Snow got up and called out to her.

"Hey, you're not gonna just leave her here, are you?" Snow asked. Ace took a step back, quick to stay out of the way if something happened.

Lightning stopped in her tracks and answered without turning, "PSICOM will be here soon. If they find us, we're all dead. I don't think Serah would like that. Think about how she would feel."

She walked off, hoping to move on, but Snow stopped her again.

"If I leave her, then I would never figure out how she felt." Snow said, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. I can handle whatever they throw at us. I'll save Cocoon and protect Serah."

As much as it aggravated Lightning, Ace almost snapped at him. Almost. It was always, "Save Cocoon" or "Serah". Unfortunately, for a person who hadn't known Serah for long or lived on Cocoon, Ace didn't really have the right to say anything... or did he?

Luckily, Lightning did the work for him... for totally different reasons. She walked right back to him and scored a heavy punch to his face. Ace blinked as Snow tumbled back, falling into Sahz who stood behind him.

"Does she look protected to you?!" she snapped. A part of Ace felt sorry for Snow, but it didn't last when the man stood right back up without helping Sahz back up.

"I can save her!" Snow said, standing to his full height. Ace quickly helped Sahz up and yanked him out of the way as Lightning punched Snow again. The brawler fell to the ground again, right where Sahz would've been if Ace didn't do anything.

"And how are you going to do that!?"

"Whatever it takes!"

That seemed to have hit a nerve in Lightning as her balled up fist slowly loosened. She looked away, having nothing to say. Ace sighed.

"Are you two always like this?" he asked as he shook his head. Snow looked at him for a moment before resuming his seemingly hopeless dig. Lightning didn't say anything while Sahz shook his head and walked away.

"Both of you are hopeless." he said. Ace shared a look with Hope, who shied away a second later. Sighing, Ace walked off to the side. This was worse than him and Machina when they argu-

The thought cut off again, making Ace resist the urge to groan in frustration. He definitely did not need this now. Over the sounds of Snow and Vanille digging, he heard something that sounded out of place. It sounded... mechanical. Worried, Ace quickly looked around, searching for the source in haste.

Then, he spotted it. It was a beaten up machine of some sort, most likely built to destroy things. And, if it was meant to destroy things, then it definitely had the same mission as the soldiers: kill any survivors. Ace didn't even bother to wait to see what it would do. After all, he figured that if it really was built to destroy things, then it needed to be destroyed.

He lifted a hand out and summoned two cards out of thin air. Closing his eyes, he took a bit of his magic and gently poured it into the cards.

"Ace, what are you doing?" came Sahz's voice. He opted to ignore him in favor of his focus. One slip up, and then it would be him blowing up. He knew it would usually take a second to do this, but he wanted to test something. He wanted to know, just how well he could use magic.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and spotted the robot flicking a light on. Ace narrowed his eyes and snatched the magic filled cards in mid air. He didn't have to aim as he threw them like a dagger, willing them to hit his desired target. He was already summoning four more cards into his palm when a portion of the machine blew up. It seemed like it roared before tumbling down to their level.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Why did you do that?!" Sahz asked, grabbing Ace's shoulder and pulling him back. Ace caught Lightning already in the move to attack it, while Snow pushed Hope back, telling him to stay back.

"You don't wanna die, right?" The card wielder quickly slipped out of Sahz's grip and hurried to Lightning's side with Snow. They shared one look before launching themselves at their enemy. Ace was quick to dodge out of the way, aiming his cards in the small gaps in the machine's armor. With Lightning's quick slashes and Snow's brute strength on the metal, the machine fell within a minute, maybe even less.

They managed to get the broken down machine crumbled against a crystalized wave, just out of their way. Ace wasn't even winded as he checked his deck of cards in his pouch. To his amazement (or not), the entire deck hadn't depleted at all. He realized then and there, that his cards would materialize back into his pouch at the end of each battle. He would've grinned if it weren't for the heavy tension in the air.

Lightning stood for a moment before moving on, only stopping when Snow got in her way.

"Hold on a moment!" he said, standing before her. Sahz shook his head.

"Look, we want to help Serah too, but without the proper tools, we'll be digging for days." he said, trying to reason with Snow. Ace placed a hand on his hip.

"In case you haven't noticed, Snow," he began, regarding the older man with a blunt stare, "we're on the run. If we don't get moving, it's either the Cie'th or PSICOM that'll finish us off."

"So, you just want me to abandon her, and save my own life?!" Snow snapped. Ace stood his ground. Luckily, Lightning cut in.

"What about your Focus?" she asked, catching Snow's attention. "What happened to sticking together and saving the world? You said it yourself, didn't you? But now, you're just gonna forget that and die here? You... You're nothing but talk."

With that Lightning walked right past him, giving him the cold shoulder.

"Lightning!"

She stopped.

"I'll do whatever it takes to finish my Focus  _and_  protect Serah. I promise that." Snow said, clenching his fists. Lightning scoffed.

"Great job so far." She had nothing more to say as she resumed her walk. Sahz sighed and patted Snow's shoulder.

"Take care of yourself." he said, following after Lightning.

"You, too." Snow wished him. He looked over to the kids standing before them. Vanille looked unsure, while Hope was just uneasy. He gestured for them to go on, making the two hurry past him to catch up with the others. Ace didn't move for a moment, feeling like he should say something. Snow caught Ace's gaze and frowned. "I know you're pretty strong, Ace. Sorry, for dragging you into all this mess."

Ace sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "I won't deny it, I do blame you, but what's done is done."

Snow chuckled a bit. "Yeah." he smacked the back of Ace's shoulder and shoved him forward, causing the small teen to stumble a bit. "Now hurry up. Sis isn't the type to wait for anyone."

Ace caught his footing and jogged toward the group, but paused. "I'll... I'll see you again... right?"

He didn't look over his shoulder to see Snow's reaction. All he needed to hear was his voice.

"Don't worry, kid. We'll see each other soon."

"Hm." Ace gave a short hum of agreement. As he hurried off to catch up with Hope, for some odd reason, Ace felt like this would be a very... very long while until he would see Snow again.


End file.
